Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1998

Abstract

Professor Joseph Sax's scholarship on the Takings Clause combines the craft of a first-class lawyer with the passion of a visionary. The good lawyer that he is, Sax's scholarship reflects a deep understanding of Supreme Court case law, legal history, and the practical dimensions of various kinds of land use disputes. Yet his work on takings is not animated by any desire for mere doctrinal tidiness. It is driven by a distinctive vision – one in which the earth's resources are becoming increasingly interconnected and in which there is an increasing need for the government to resolve conflicts regarding the use of these resources. Each of his writings on the Takings Clause, be it a law review article, speech, or book review, offers fresh insights in response to unfolding developments in compensation law.

Reading this body of work is like participating in a conversation that one hopes will never end. Unfortunately, it is a conversation that is fading from Professor Sax's end. As his scholarly interests and institutional obligations have multiplied in recent years, the time and energy he has been able to devote to the theory of the Takings Clause have clearly diminished. Yet when he does speak, one cannot help but listen, for his voice carries both authority and conviction.

This Article proceeds as follows. First, I describe Professor Sax's scholarship on the Takings Clause, organizing that work into four clusters defined both chronologically and by institutional affiliation. Then I examine certain recurring themes in the scholarship and consider how those themes develop (or fail to develop) over time. Finally, I focus more closely on Professor Sax's conviction that a proper understanding of the Takings Clause requires a redefinition of "property" and suggest that this premise may not be necessary to promote some of his underlying objectives.

Disciplines

Constitutional Law | Environmental Law | Law | Property Law and Real Estate | Public Law and Legal Theory

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