In the end, of course, Scalia and O’Connor were outvoted. Liberal Justice John Paul Stevens, joined by Justices Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer, gave the government all the leeway it needed to kick people out of their homes and wipe their neighborhoods off the map. “The disposition of this case,” Stevens announced, “turns on the question of whether the City’s development plan serves a ‘public purpose.’ Without exception, our cases have defined that concept broadly, reflecting our longstanding policy of deference to legislative judgments in this field.”

The Kelo case has been in the news again recently thanks to the presidential campaign of Republican Donald Trump. In Trump’s oft-stated view, Kelo is a “wonderful” decision that should be respected and emulated. Trump is also known for trying to personally profit from Kelo-style land grab.

Trump’s position is of course totally anathema to the position of Justice Scalia, who once went so far as to compare Kelo to Dred Scott. Perhaps when the next Republican presidential debate rolls around, one of the moderators will consider asking Trump why it is that he prefers the legal views of John Paul Stevens over those of Antonin Scalia on this matter.