By now you probably are (or should be) focusing on the end of the term. Let's look into Chapter 22 and consider eminent domain---the right of a government (the sovereign) to take private property (land) for the public good. Historically, the exercise of eminent domain has been limited to the taking of private lands for public works projects---roads, schools, water treatment projects, etc. Within the past couple of years in the Northeast, a city took (via its power of eminent domain) private land to be used for private commercial purposes as a means to increase the municipality's tax base (i.e., taking family homes for the construction of a Wal-Mart, although this was not exactly the case in this instance). The US Supreme Court upheld the city's action reasoning that the State had not limited a municipality's power of eminent domain. Is the use of eminent domain for the purpose of taking private lands for commercial development a justifiable use of such power? What are the pros and cons