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47 Wash. L. Rev. 553 (1971-1972)
A General Theory of Eminent Domain

handle is hein.journals/washlr47 and id is 569 raw text is: WASHINGTON LAW REVIEW Volume 47, Number 4, August 1972 ARTICLES A GENERAL THEORY OF EMINENT DOMAIN William B. Stoebuck* Where to begin? That is the question whenever one traces the origin and development of any particular set of ideas. There is, of course, some famous, if very light, judicial precedent that one should, Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.' The beginning, alas, is a point unattainable by those of us who are neither speculative philosophers nor inspired prophets. Nor, perhaps, do ancient beginnings matter much in our present inquiry, except as a matter of curiosity. Some claim the first recorded exercise of eminent domain power was King Ahab's seizure of Naboth's vineyard.2 The internal facts, however, indicate the king had no such legal'power, for he had to have Naboth stoned to death before he could make the vineyard his. In any event, there is no evidence that this Biblical incident contrib- uted in the slightest to the American law of eminent domain, not even in Massachusetts Bay Colony in its most God fearing days. One is curious, next, about Roman expropriation practice. We know about as much of this as we do of Naboth's vineyard. The principle of expropriation was never formulated by legislator or jurist. It is not even clear Rome exercised a power of compulsory taking, though some scattered bits of evidence suggest she did. The straight roads and aque- * Professor of Law, University of Washington. B.A., 1951, Wichita State University; M.A., 1953, Indiana University; J.D., 1959, University of Washington. 1. The King of Hearts to the White Rabbit during the trial of the Knave of Hearts for stealing the queen's tarts. L. CARROLL, ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND, Ch. 12(1901). 2. 1 P. NicHoLs, EMINENT DOMAIN 44 (rev. 3d ed. 1964); 1 Kings 21. 553

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