This article provides a comprehensive examination of the constitutional foundations of the police power, focusing on its relationship to property rights, regulatory authority, and due process limitations. Stoebuck traces the historical development of police power doctrine in American law, explaining how courts have distinguished legitimate regulation from compensable takings under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
The article analyzes how police power operates as an inherent attribute of sovereignty, permitting states to regulate for public health, safety, morals, and general welfare without triggering compensation, so long as regulation remains within constitutional bounds. Stoebuck details the judicial tests used to assess when regulation crosses into a taking, emphasizing the role of reasonableness, public purpose, and proportionality.
By situating police power within constitutional structure rather than contractual consent or individual agreement, the article clarifies why regulatory authority persists even when it imposes burdens on private property. This work remains a foundational reference in scholarship addressing land-use regulation, economic controls, and the constitutional limits of governmental authority.
Citation
Stoebuck, W. B. (1980). Police power, takings, and due process. Washington and Lee Law Review, 37(4), 1057–1108.
Washington and Lee Law Review (PDF)