By Caleb Taylor What are the differences between state and federal constitutional law? How do lawyers use state constitutions to protect their clients? How do state laws differ from those at the federal level in protecting individual rights? Come learn the answers to these questions and more from Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Justin Pearson […]
Property Rights
ACRE Director Talks Property Rights Protection at State Capitol
By Caleb Taylor How much cash and property was seized by law enforcement in Arkansas since 2010? ACRE Director and UCA Associate Professor of Economics Dr. David Mitchell explained how often and how much property was taken through civil asset forfeiture since 2010 at a state Senate Judiciary Committee meeting at 1 p.m. Friday, December […]
ACRE Director to Talk Property Rights Protection at State Capitol
By Caleb Taylor How much cash and property was seized by law enforcement in Arkansas? ACRE Director and UCA Associate Professor of Economics Dr. David Mitchell will answer this and more at a state House and Senate Judiciary Committee meeting at 1 p.m. Friday, December 18 at Room A in the MAC Building at the […]
Why Arkansas Eminent Domain Law Needs To Be Reformed
By Kennedy Neely Since the killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, many states are dealing with increased demands to remove statues honoring Confederate Soldiers. In particular, the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas has been facing a debate centered around the relocation of a Confederate statue on private property downtown. Because the statue is […]
Meaningful Change Through Business
By Caleb Taylor UCA students were able to hear how ordinary people are able to create meaningful change in the world at the last ACRE Speaker Series event of 2019, on November 5. Nan Doyal spoke about her book, Dig Where You Are, which introduces readers to seven people who have solved some of the […]
New Protections for Property Rights in Arkansas: Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform
By Aaron Newell Civil asset forfeiture reform has been on the minds of Arkansas legislators, as well as policymakers around the country. The US Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion in Timbs v Indiana, ruled that the excessive fines clause of the US Constitution applied to state laws, and in particular civil asset forfeiture laws. […]
Civil Asset Forfeiture in Arkansas May Change after US Supreme Court Ruling, But the State Could Do More to Protect Arkansans
Most people don’t realize that police officers can seize and keep the property of individuals even if that person is never convicted of a crime. It’s called “civil asset forfeiture,” and a new US Supreme Court decision is putting stricter limits on it. ACRE’s database of seizures was started as Maleka Momand’s ACRE Research Fellow […]
Up for Grabs: Potential for Abuse in Blight Condemnations
By Ashley Wofford “Blight condemnations” might sound like a reasonable measure to ensure community members are safe and that property that is seriously dilapidated isn’t just left to rot. But there is a danger that government officials could abuse Arkansas’s overly broad definition of blight. Furthermore, the threat of eminent domain laws being used this […]
Blurring the Lines of Public Use: Pipeline Takings
By Ashley Wofford In my blog posts “How to Reform Eminent Domain Law” and “Fair Market Value Compensation: is this the right standard” I began to look at the issues Ilya Somin addresses in his new ACRE policy brief “Ripe for Reform: Eminent Domain Law in Arkansas.” In this post, I will look into a […]
Fair Market Value Compensation: Is this the right standard?
By Ashley Wofford In my previous post, I gave an overview of ACRE’s most recent eminent domain policy brief by George Mason Professor of Law, Ilya Somin: “Ripe for Reform: Eminent Domain Law in Arkansas.” The first aspect of Arkansas eminent domain law that Somin points out as having a potential for abuse is fair […]