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Vicki Baker v. City of McKinney, Texas

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 22-40644 · judgment October 11, 2023


Certiorari denied · November 25, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

When the government acquires private property for a public use, the Takings Clause requires the government to provide the owner with “just compensation.” The Third, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, and Federal Circuits, however, have held that the Takings Clause does not apply when government takes property pursuant to its “police power,” while the Fourth Circuit disagrees. Below, the Fifth Circuit adopted a middle road, while explicitly breaking with the Seventh, Tenth, and Federal Circuits. The court below held that the government’s actions cannot constitute a taking when they were “objectively necessary.” That holding doomed the claim of petitioner, a concededly innocent homeowner whose house was destroyed by the police in pursuit of a dangerous fugitive. The question presented is whether the Takings Clause applies even when the government takes property for a particularly compelling public use.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Jeffrey Hallett Redfern
Institute for Justice

For respondent
Jesse Wadell Wainwright
Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 4 conferences

Amicus briefs
4 cert-stage

Linked docket
23A891

Argument & decision

Decided November 25, 2024.

Proceedings

  1. Nov 25 2024
    Petition DENIED. Statement of Justice Sotomayor, with whom Justice Gorsuch joins, respecting the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion)
  2. Nov 18 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/22/2024.
  3. Nov 12 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/15/2024.
  4. Nov 04 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/8/2024.
  5. Oct 16 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/1/2024.
  6. Oct 11 2024
    Reply of petitioner Vicki Baker filed. (Distributed)
  7. Sep 30 2024
    Brief of respondent McKinney, Texas in opposition filed.
  8. Aug 19 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including September 30, 2024.
  9. Aug 15 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from August 30, 2024 to September 30, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
  10. Aug 01 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation filed.
  11. Aug 01 2024
    Brief amici curiae of Professors James W. Ely, Jr., et al. filed.
  12. Jul 26 2024
    Brief amici curiae of Julia D. Mahoney, et al. filed.
  13. Jul 26 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, Inc. filed.
  14. Jul 22 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including August 30, 2024.
  15. Jul 19 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from August 1, 2024 to August 30, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
  16. Jun 28 2024
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 1, 2024)
  17. Apr 09 2024
    Application (23A891) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until June 28, 2024.
  18. Apr 04 2024
    Application (23A891) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from May 14, 2024 to June 28, 2024, submitted to Justice Alito.