For whatever reason, a lot of traffic to this site comes from searches for "eminent domain in detroit" or similar. ("Whatever reason" is probably my post in November arguing against Proposal 4 as poor lawmaking.)

Now, I am not a lawyer, nor have I ever been involved in a takings case in any capacity - I'm just someone who has taken the requisite one course in land-use law during grad school. But I can tell you what I know about where eminent domain came from and why Detroit is an important datapoint. (If I'm wrong, complain to my professor - he is a lawyer, after all.) If you need advice on a real-life example of eminent domain, consult a real-life lawyer.

Wow! Wow wow wow!

While looking up the legislature mentioned in the DetNews imposing a permanent moratorium on new highway billboards (and trade in three existing billboards for one new one), I discovered the Michigan Legislature's Bill Update RSS Feed - updated every ten minutes while leg. is in session with status on bills.

So many forms of geekery in one. I can't begin to express my glee.