Civics: Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Sidewalks are not “Pedestrian Ways”—thus Allowing Local Governments to Use Eminent Domain to Take Property to Build Them
Courts sometimes adopt highly counterintuitive interpretations of words. In 2022, a California court notoriously ruled that bees qualify as fish. Today, in Sojenhomer v. Village of Egg Harbor, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin ruled that a sidewalk is not a “pedestrian way.” They thereby enabled local governments to use eminent domain to condemn property to build sidewalks, despite a state law forbidding the use of eminent domain to take property for “pedestrian way[s].” The close 4-3 decision might become a staple of law school textbooks.
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It may seem obvious that a sidewalk is, in fact, a pedestrian way. Indeed, as the court notes, the relevant statute defines a “pedestrian way” as “a walk designated for the use of
pedestrian travel.” That seems to pretty obviously include sidewalks! You don’t have to be a property scholar like me to see that.
