Posts by abarrett

From before the founding, the “fundamental maxims of a free government [have] seem[ed] to require, that the rights of personal liberty and private property should be held sacred.” The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment exists to protect those sacred rights from unfettered state appropriation by requiring: first, that any taking of private property be…

When Jim and Cliff Courtney sought to offer private boat transportation so customers could conveniently access their businesses — including Stehekin Valley Ranch, with cabins and a lodge house in the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area — the state of Washington denied their right to do so unless the Courtneys could prove the existing ferry…