Also known as: 5th Amendment takings clause · takings clause · Takings Clause · Just Compensation Clause
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional command that the government provide just compensation when it takes private property for public use. The clause applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment and reaches both direct appropriations and certain regulatory actions that appropriate a property interest.
Freya Freeman owns a large agricultural operation. State regulators adopt a rule allowing union organizers to enter her fields and packing sheds several times each month to meet with workers. Freeman sues, claiming the mandated access appropriates her right to exclude others from the property. The court holds that the recurring physical invasions constitute a per se taking requiring just compensation.
Fatima Flores grows raisins on her California vineyard. A federal marketing order requires her to deliver a percentage of each harvest to a government facility, leaving her only a contingent interest in any later sales proceeds. Flores challenges the order as an uncompensated appropriation of personal property. The court concludes that the compelled transfer effects a per se taking of personal property.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Yes. The clause protects personal property, and a government requirement that owners surrender a portion of their crop or goods to the government constitutes a per se taking even when the owners retain only a contingent interest in the reserved items.
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Yes. Regulations that grant recurring access to private property at regular intervals appropriate the right to exclude and therefore constitute per se physical takings requiring compensation.
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Yes. The clause requires just compensation whenever private property is taken for public use, regardless of whether the taking serves a legitimate public purpose such as economic development or historic preservation.
Supporting sources