Columbus, OH – On Wednesday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Gonzales v. Inslee, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and protect the private property rights of landlords.

“The takings clause—which says the government cannot take private property ‘without just compensation’—is a bedrock principle of the U.S. Constitution,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “And this case presents the U.S. Supreme Court the opportunity to make clear that regardless of whether the government physically takes your property or gives possession to someone else, it still violates the Constitution.”

In its brief, The Buckeye Institute argues that the right to exclude—to say who can and cannot live on your property—is a fundamental element of property rights protected by the Fifth Amendment and that the state of Washington effectively took private property by telling landlords they could not exclude non-rent paying tenants from their property. 

Larry Obhof, a partner at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP and former president of the Ohio Senate, is the counsel of record for The Buckeye Institute on this brief. Pacific Legal Foundation is arguing Gonzales v. Inslee. 

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UPDATE: On June 24, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court denied cert in Gonzales v. Inslee.