Time to Bury the Williamson County Rule

Claims for unconstitutional takings of property against state actors should not be treated differently than other fundamental rights claims and relegated to second-class status. Thirty years ago, inWilliamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank, the U.S. Supreme Court pronounced a new rule that a property owner must first sue in state court to ripen a federal takings claim. As illustrated byKnick v. Township of Scott, Pennsylvania, in which Cato has filed abriefsupporting the property owner ’s petition to the Court—joined by the NFIB Small Business Legal Center, Southeastern Legal Foundation, and Beacon Center—this radical departure from historic practice has effectively shut property owners out of federal courts without any firm doctrinal justification.Rose Mary Knick owns 90 acres in Scott Township in western Pennsylvania, a state known for its “backyard burials.” In 2012 a new ordinance required all “cemeteries” be open and accessible to the public during daylight hours. It also allowed government officials to enter private property to look for violations. In 2013, township officials entered Ms. Knick’s property without her perm ission and—after finding old stone markers on her property—cited her for violating the cemetery code. Fines are $300-600 per infraction per day. Ms. Knick took the township to court; the state court dismissed her claims as improperly “postured” because the township had not yet pursued civil enforcement to co...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs