Why All The Fuss About Kelo?

I am reliving my 15 minutes of fame in a state of mild confusion. The Kelo case is back in the news (quite prominently in this publication), and the principal occasion for its return to the public eye is an apology supposedly given to Ms. Kelo by one of the members of the Connecticut Supreme Court majority. While I won’t comment on this unexpected mea culpa, in its somewhat frenzied wake, I come neither to praise Kelo, nor to bury it, but merely to dispel two of the lingering myths about the case:

Myth No. 1: The Plaintiffs Lost: While the nine wise souls in Washington voted 5-4 to affirm the constitutionality of New London’s use of eminent domain, the plaintiffs only “lost” in the narrowest sense of the word. This may sound glib, but anyone who ends up having Brooke Shields portray her in a movie (a made-for-TV movie on Lifetime, but a movie nonetheless), as is the case for Ms. Kelo, won the war even if she lost the battle. (No word yet on who’ll play me, but I’m hoping the producers will resurrect Telly Savalas or Yul Brenner.)