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The US Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. City of New London'sparked a fierce debate throughout the United States by validating the use of eminent domain for purposes of economic development. Especially troublesome was its validation of eminent domain where the confiscated lands are then transferred to private parties that implement the economic development project and enjoy its gains. Opponents, who come from practically all wings of the political spectrum, see the decision as pronouncing the ultimate death of the Constitution's Fifth Amendment requirement that eminent domain be restricted to property taken for" public use." 2 They claim it grants governments carte blanche for compulsory transfer of private property from ordinary citizens to politically-powerful real estate entrepreneurs.