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Ilya Somin
Adjunct Scholar
Ilya Somin is Associate Professor of Law at George Mason University. Before his 2003 appointment at George Mason, he was the John M. Olin Fellow in Law at Northwestern University and clerked for Judge Jerry E. Smith of the Fifth Circuit. Somin is widely published in both the scholarly and popular press, including the Yale Law Journal, the Stanford Law Review, the Northwestern University Law Review, and also Reason, the LA Times, National Review Online, and Opinionjournal.com.
Somin's interests include democracy and political knowledge, federalism, and property rights. As a member of the Volokh Conspiracy, he is a prominent blogger.
Media Contact: 202-789-5200
To Book a Speaking Engagement: 202-789-5226
Cato Studies
"Robin Hood in Reverse: The Case against Taking Private Property for Economic Development," Policy Analysis no. 535, February 21, 2005.
"When Ignorance Isn't Bliss: How Political Ignorance Threatens Democracy," Policy Analysis no. 525, September 22, 2004.
Opinion and Commentary
"Referendum Initiatives Prevent Eminent Domain Abuse," Daily Caller, November 9, 2011
"Forfeiture Laws, the War on Drugs, and Alvarez v. Smith," FindLaw, October 14, 2009
"Eroding Constitutional Limits on Governmental Takings," Detroit Free Press, July 16, 2009
"Don't Count on Prop. 99," Los Angeles Times, May 19, 2008
"Battle over Eminent Domain is Another Civil Rights Issue," by David Beito and Ilya Somin, Cato.org, April 27, 2008
Legal Briefs
Colony Cove Properties v. City of Carson, September 14, 2011 (PDF, 197 KB)
Tuck-It-Away, Inc. v. New York State Urban Development Corp., October 25, 2010 (PDF, 128 KB)
Speeches and Testimony
"Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Record on Constitutional Property Rights," July 16, 2009.
Multimedia
Cato Institute 9th Annual Constitution Day Conference - Guns, Enron, and Sexual Predators: The Scope of Federal Power with Robert A. Levy, Alan Gura and Harvey Silverglate (September 16, 2010) [Events, 01:13:28]
(Rationally) Ignorant Voters (September 24, 2008) [Daily Podcast, 09:03]
Nudging Paternalists (September 8, 2008) [Daily Podcast, 10:46]
Post-Kelo Eminent Domain Reform (April 9, 2008) [Daily Podcast, 07:22]
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