Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflection Paper - Essay Example At the same time, though most people knew what the laws called for, it was still too early to tell the measures their respective State governments would take. While some states adopted the laws as they were, others introduced to exceptions, making the laws almost unattainable. Eminent domain Eminent domain generally refers to the power of the government to control all the property within its territory and appropriate it for public use. In the United States, these powers have been delegated to the respective state governments (Weinstein, 2006). However, the government must undertake several steps before acquiring private property for public use. This applies regardless of whether the acquisition is complete, partial, temporary or right of way. In all the cases, the government is supposed to pay a fair price for the property, which is usually the fair market value or the highest price one can pay for the property in an open market. At times, the government may go further to ensure that there is fair compensation for the property taken. This includes for example, finding a premise for a going-concern business or paying relocation costs to individuals moving from their homes. After undertaking all the steps, the government must ensure that the acquired property is for public use, as any other purpose would make the process null and void (Larson, 2004). These powers vested upon the government vary from one state to another, based on the limitations placed over the use of the appropriated property (Larson, 2004). The three main factors that arose immediately after the Kelo ruling are responsible for these differences. These factors included the uncharacteristic dissent by the former justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the change in political and legal atmosphere in the country, and the outcry from both the media and the public concerning the ruling. Of the three, the dissent by O’Connor was the most unequivocal as she went further to document her thoughts, whi ch apparently rivaled those of her colleagues. In addition, she joined hands with a group of advocates from the property right movement, who argued that the law would not only replace homes with shopping malls, but also turn farms into factories (Weinstein, 2006). Like O’Connor, the Congress indirectly opposed the enactment of the eminent law by introducing limitation bills. The aim of the bills was to deny state or local government funds, which would necessitate the transfer of private property to other parties. However, it was very categorical in the ban, as it only prohibited those that benefited private investors. Consequently, although the laws vary among various jurisdictions, it is apparent that most of the states concur with the laws. The differences originate from the need of each State to be independent and protect the rights of its residents. Most of the states that enacted the eminent domain law introduced bills that restricted the use of the appropriated property for economic development. Others went further to define economic development as those activities that would create new job opportunities and generate revenue to the state. With this specification, it became apparent that any appropriation for private gain would be discouraged (Weinstein, 2006). Alabama serves as a good example of how States passed bills to prohibit the implementation of

Equity and Trusts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Equity and Trusts - Essay Example If it is developed in the country where monarchy system is followed, then monks would be required to live in the property. Therefore it may be concluded that it is not necessary that the idea of Trust Law will always find its origin in the English system only1. In this paper different aspects of the contemporary trust law will be studied and the importance of the beneficiary in this law would be discussed. The Origin of the trust law The historical origin of the trust can be found in the so called crusades in which the English noblemen fought and were away from England for years. The noblemen were significant land-owners in England under the feudal land system. The problem arose as to who would be using the land and in what way when the noble men were out of the country. As a consequence the rule of equity recognized that the land left unused by the noblemen, who were unable to exercise their legal rights on the other, will be used by other men. So the equity recognized an arrangemen t where the right of the noblemen will be retained. The nobleman was regarded as the person who will have the ultimate beneficial right and the person who will be benefiting from this arrangement is known as beneficiary. In the absence of the nobleman, the Stewart who accepts the charge of the land is entitled to raise taxes on the land and so on. So in such an arrangement the nobleman passes their legal rights of the land to the trusted person referred as â€Å"trustee† but the ultimate beneficial right of the property remains with the nobleman who serves as the â€Å"beneficiary†. The core duty of the trustee is to stick to the terms and condition of the trust2.Therefore the â€Å"beneficiary† is referred to have the â€Å"equitable interest â€Å"in the property3. A major traditional practitioner’s Lewin gave the following description of trust. He defined trust as â€Å"a duty or aggregated accumulation of obligations that rest upon the person descr ibed as trustee. The responsibility bestowed on him is due to the property held by him under his control. The property is compelled by the court in the equitable jurisdiction to administer in the manner lawfully prescribed by the trust instrument or where there be no specific provision written or oral, or to the extent of such provision is invalid or lacking in accordance with equitable principle†4. Problem with the Law In California, people presented petitions and pleaded for justice to the Chancellor (the keeper of the King’s conscience) stating that the property given to the trustee for their benefit was mis-applied. So the court of Chancery built up two ideas: first, â€Å"the obligation of the feoffee to uses or trustee to hold the property for the benefit of the cestui que use or beneficiary†5 and second, â€Å"the right of the beneficiary to obtain the use of the property†6. Thus this notion backed that the trustee’s obligation with regard to the property was correlative to the beneficiaries’ right in it7. A major traditional practitioner Lewin argued that the consequence is such that the benefits and the advantages accrued will not go to the trustee and in turn will go to the person called â€Å"cestui que† that is the beneficiary. The trustee may be the beneficiary in the case where the advantage accrued will be in his favor to the extent of his beneficial interest8. Importance of Beneficiary The central tension in the Trust Law is regarding the