Scott Bullock

Last updated
Scott Bullock
Born
Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
Education Grove City College (BA)
University of Pittsburgh (JD)
Occupation Civil rights attorney
Awards Drum Major for Justice Award (2002) [1]
Website Official website

Scott G. Bullock is an American lawyer who focuses on property rights issues such as eminent domain and civil forfeiture. [2] [3] He has been president and General Counsel at the Institute for Justice since 2016, [4] a nonprofit libertarian public interest law firm. [2] He represented Susette Kelo in Kelo v. City of New London , an eminent domain case decided by the Supreme Court in 2005. [5] Bullock was a senior attorney before becoming the president of the institute and directed many cases on state and federal level. [6] In 1994 he represented the institute in a forum on C-SPAN. [7]

Contents

Education

Bullock was born in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and grew up in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received his B.A. in economics and philosophy from Grove City College and his J.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. [8] After an internship at the Cato Institute, Bullock joined the Institute for Justice at its founding in 1991. [8] [7]

Career

Bullock was lead co-counsel in the 2005 Supreme Court case Kelo v. City of New London . [9] After the decision by the high court to allow the City of New London to seize the homes and businesses of current residences to make room for a "90-acre office, hotel, and housing complex", Bullock said that it was "a sad day for the country and a sad day for the Constitution." [9]

Bullock has also been successful in winning cases of lawsuits in New Jersey, Tennessee as well as in Mississippi. [10]

Bullock has advocated against government use of civil forfeiture. [11] [12] He has said that when the police pull drivers over for minor traffic infractions and seize their cash, they do not "respect fundamental notions of due process." [13] He represented Russ Caswell when the police tried to seize Caswell's motel in Tewksbury, Massachusetts after incidents of illegal drug activity on the premises. [14] [15]

He called the practice of equitable sharing, in which state and federal law enforcement share the proceeds of seized assets, a violation of federalism. [2] He has been involved in First Amendment and commercial speech cases. He is an advocate for parental rights. [16]

Bullock has shared his views on constitutional issues in publications such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal as well as in broadcast media such as 60 Minutes , ABC Nightly News, and National Public Radio. [8]

Related Research Articles

Eminent domain, land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation is the power of a state, provincial, or national government to take private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and transfer ownership of private property from one property owner to another private property owner without a valid public purpose. This power can be legislatively delegated by the state to municipalities, government subdivisions, or even to private persons or corporations, when they are authorized by the legislature to exercise the functions of public character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute for Justice</span> American libertarian non-profit public interest law firm

The Institute for Justice (IJ) is a libertarian non-profit public interest law firm in the United States. It has litigated ten cases before the United States Supreme Court dealing with eminent domain, interstate commerce, public financing for elections, school vouchers, tax credits for private school tuition, civil asset forfeiture, and residency requirements for liquor license. The organization was founded in 1990. As of June 2016, it employed a staff of 95 in Arlington, Virginia and seven offices across the United States. Its 2016 budget was $20 million.

In rem jurisdiction is a legal term describing the power a court may exercise over property or a "status" against a person over whom the court does not have in personam jurisdiction. Jurisdiction in rem assumes the property or status is the primary object of the action, rather than personal liabilities not necessarily associated with the property.

Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that interpreted the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court voted 8–0 to hold that private property could be taken for a public purpose with just compensation. The case laid the foundation for the Court's later important public use cases, Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff, 467 U.S. 229 (1984) and Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005).

Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005), was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held, 5–4, that the use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private owner to another private owner to further economic development does not violate the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. In the case, plaintiff Susette Kelo sued the city of New London, Connecticut, for violating her civil rights after the city tried to acquire her house's property through eminent domain so that the land could be used as part of a "comprehensive redevelopment plan". Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the five-justice majority that the city's use of eminent domain was permissible under the Takings Clause, because the general benefits the community would enjoy from economic growth qualified as "public use".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asset forfeiture</span> Confiscation of assets by the state

Asset forfeiture or asset seizure is a form of confiscation of assets by the authorities. In the United States, it is a type of criminal-justice financial obligation. It typically applies to the alleged proceeds or instruments of crime. This applies, but is not limited, to terrorist activities, drug-related crimes, and other criminal and even civil offenses. Some jurisdictions specifically use the term "confiscation" instead of forfeiture. The alleged purpose of asset forfeiture is to disrupt criminal activity by confiscating assets that potentially could have been beneficial to the individual or organization.

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Joette Katz is an American attorney who is a partner at the law firm, Shipman & Goodwin LLP. She was an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, where she also served as the administrative judge for the state appellate system, and as Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. In various roles during her career she has had an impact on issues of state and national importance, such as: criminal law, capital punishment, civil rights and the right to education, eminent domain, same-sex marriage, LGBTQ rights, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and helping children in state care move from institutions to families.

<i>City of Norwood v. Horney</i>

City of Norwood v. Horney, 110 Ohio St.3d 353 (2006), was a case brought before the Ohio Supreme Court in 2006. The case came upon the heels of Kelo v. City of New London, in which the United States Supreme Court ruled that commercial development justified the use of eminent domain. Kelo had involved the United States Constitution, while the issue in Norwood was the specific limitations of the Ohio State Constitution.

The Castle Coalition is a network of U.S. homeowners and citizen activists determined to stop the abuse of eminent domain in their communities, that is, the taking of private property by the government in order to give it to another private individual. The organization takes its name from the principle that Americans' homes or businesses should be their castles, that is, places where they are safe and free from abusive government power. The principle has been part of Anglo-American legal tradition since Edward Coke famously stated, "... a man's house is his castle".

Dana Berliner is Litigation Director at the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm in Arlington, Virginia founded in 1991 by Chip Mellor and Clint Bolick. She was co-lead counsel for Susette Kelo in the landmark United States Supreme Court case Kelo v. City of New London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution</span> 1791 amendment enumerating due process rights

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution creates several constitutional rights, limiting governmental powers focusing on criminal procedures. It was ratified, along with nine other articles, in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equitable sharing</span> U.S. police practice in which state and federal police share revenue from asset forfeiture

Equitable sharing refers to a United States program in which the proceeds of liquidated seized assets from asset forfeiture are shared between state and federal law enforcement authorities. The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 set up the arrangement in which state and local police can share the seizures with federal agents. The law allows state and local law enforcement to retain up to 80% of the proceeds from seizures made in collaboration with federal agencies and from seized assets turned over to the federal government that the federal government then elects to adopt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul J. Watford</span> American judge (born 1967)

Paul Jeffrey Watford is an American lawyer who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2012 to 2023. In February 2016, The New York Times identified Watford as a potential Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Ortiz</span> American attorney and college instructor

Carmen Milagros Ortiz is an attorney, college instructor, and former United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilya Somin</span> American law professor (born 1973)

Ilya Somin is a law professor at George Mason University, B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, a blogger for the Volokh Conspiracy, and a former co-editor of the Supreme Court Economic Review (2006–2013). His research focuses on constitutional law, property law, migration rights, and the study of popular political participation and its implications for constitutional democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civil forfeiture in the United States</span> Aspect of U.S. law enforcement

In the United States, civil forfeiture is a process in which law enforcement officers take assets from people who are suspected of involvement with crime or illegal activity without necessarily charging the owners with wrongdoing. While civil procedure, as opposed to criminal procedure, generally involves a dispute between two private citizens, civil forfeiture involves a dispute between law enforcement and property such as a pile of cash or a house or a boat, such that the thing is suspected of being involved in a crime. To get back the seized property, owners must prove it was not involved in criminal activity. Sometimes it can mean a threat to seize property as well as the act of seizure itself. Civil forfeiture is not considered to be an example of a criminal justice financial obligation.

Eminent domain in the United States refers to the power of a state or the federal government to take private property for public use while requiring just compensation to be given to the original owner. It can be legislatively delegated by the state to municipalities, government subdivisions, or even to private persons or corporations, when they are authorized to exercise the functions of public character.

Louisiana Power & Light Co. v. City of Thibodaux, 360 U.S. 25 (1959), was a case in which the Supreme Court created a new doctrine of abstention.

<i>Little Pink House</i> 2017 American film

Little Pink House is a 2017 American-Canadian biographical drama film written and directed by Courtney Moorehead Balaker and starring Catherine Keener as Susette Kelo. It is based on the book "Little Pink House" by Jeff Benedict, which chronicles events related to Kelo v. City of New London, a U.S. Supreme Court case in which Kelo unsuccessfully sued the city of New London, Connecticut, for its controversial use of eminent domain.

Nebraska v. One 1970 2-Door Sedan Rambler (Gremlin) 191 Neb. 462, 215 N.W.2d 849 (1974) is a Nebraska Supreme Court civil forfeiture case. It was brought by the American state of Nebraska to seize a Rambler Gremlin on the sole grounds it was transporting illegal marijuana. The owner appealed against the forfeiture decision on the grounds of a claimed lack of due process. The court ruled 4–2 and sustained the confiscation as lawful.

References

  1. ↑ Kramer, John (May 20, 2002). "Institute for Justice Presented Top Civil Rights Award By MLK's Southern Christian Leadership Conference" (Press release). Institute for Justice.
  2. 1 2 3 Radley Balko (July 31, 2014). "Rep. Tim Walberg introduces bill to curb asset forfeiture abuse". Washington Post. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ Bullock, Scott G. (August 2006). "IJ Attorney Scott Bullock Wins Koch Award". Institute for Justice. 15 (4).
  4. ↑ "Scott Bullock: Wait, This Can Happen in America?".
  5. ↑ Charles Lane (February 23, 2005). "Defining Limits of Eminent Domain: High Court Weighs City's Claim to Land". Washington Post. Retrieved October 18, 2014. ...Page A06...Scott G. Bullock of the libertarian Institute for Justice, said that if New London, Conn., can use its power of eminent domain to force Susette Kelo and six other owners to sell...
  6. ↑ Scott Bullock.
  7. 1 2 "Scott Bullock | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org.
  8. 1 2 3 Scott G. Bullock, Institute for Justice, Retrieved Oct. 18, 2014
  9. 1 2 Warren Richey (June 24, 2005). "Court widens scope of property seizure: It rules 5 to 4 that local governments can take homes and other property for private development". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved October 18, 2014. ...Facing the wrecking ball are 15 homes and businesses owned by seven families... Scott Bullock, a lawyer with the Institute for Justice... "a sad day for the country and a sad day for the Constitution."...
  10. ↑ "Scott Bullock | HuffPost". www.huffingtonpost.ca.
  11. ↑ Erin O'Neill (October 16, 2014). "'Piano Man' fighting state to save parents' Atlantic City house". nj.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014. ..."Unfortunately, local governments in New Jersey have been very aggressive about using eminent domain," said Scott Bullock, a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice who represented a group of Long Branch homeowners ....
  12. ↑ Joan Biskupic (September 28, 2004). "Justices take eminent-domain case". USA Today. Retrieved October 18, 2014. ...Scott Bullock, ...if the justices adopt the Connecticut court's reasoning, any home or small business could be condemned and replaced by a project that produces more tax revenue....
  13. ↑ Robert O'Harrow Jr., Michael Sallah (September 8, 2014). "They fought the law. Who won?: Many drivers faced a long ordeal in court to try to get their money back from police". Washington Post. Retrieved October 18, 2014. ...Scott Bullock, senior attorney ... "It should not exist in a country that respects fundamental notions of due process."...
  14. ↑ Emshwiller, John R.; Fields, Gary; Levitz, Jennifer (October 18, 2011). "Motel Is Latest Stopover in Federal Forfeiture Battle". Wall Street Journal.
  15. ↑ Denise Lavoie (December 29, 2011). "Mass. budget motel fights forfeiture by feds". Boston Globe. Retrieved October 18, 2014. ...Caswell's lawyers s..Bullock argues that equitable sharing allows federal officials to circumvent state forfeiture laws...
  16. ↑ Lyle Denniston (June 6, 2000). "Justices bolster parents' rights". The Baltimore Sun .
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