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TPPF's Laura Beth Latimer, Nathan Seltzer, Clayton Calvin, and Chance Weldon get fired up over property rights and home equity theft.
The team looks deep into the world of tax sales, breaking down how local governments have been seizing properties for minor tax debts and pocketing the excess equity. The discussion covers two major Supreme Court cases: the landmark 2023 case Tyler v. Hennepin County and the recent follow-up, Pung v. Isabella County. Along the way, they discuss originalism, the Magna Carta, William Blackstone, and why property rights deserve the exact same constitutional respect as the First and Second Amendments.
In this episode:
— Tyler v. Hennepin County: The court unanimously ruled against a Minnesota county that seized a 94-year-old woman's condo over $15,000 in taxes and fees, only to sell it for $40,000 and keep the $25,000 windfall.
— Pung v. Isabella County: A look at a 16-year legal nightmare where a Michigan family lost their home over a $2,200 tax bill that state administrative courts had repeatedly ruled they did not even owe.
— Just Compensation: The complicated Supreme Court debate over whether "just compensation" under the Fifth Amendment means pre-foreclosure fair market value (appraised at $194,000) or the depressed auction price ($76,000).
— Justice Thomas's Concurrence: A breakdown of Justice Thomas's argument, relying on founding-era history, that property is a natural, fundamental right and the government exists to protect it—not the other way around.
The team looks deep into the world of tax sales, breaking down how local governments have been seizing properties for minor tax debts and pocketing the excess equity. The discussion covers two major Supreme Court cases: the landmark 2023 case Tyler v. Hennepin County and the recent follow-up, Pung v. Isabella County. Along the way, they discuss originalism, the Magna Carta, William Blackstone, and why property rights deserve the exact same constitutional respect as the First and Second Amendments.
In this episode:
— Tyler v. Hennepin County: The court unanimously ruled against a Minnesota county that seized a 94-year-old woman's condo over $15,000 in taxes and fees, only to sell it for $40,000 and keep the $25,000 windfall.
— Pung v. Isabella County: A look at a 16-year legal nightmare where a Michigan family lost their home over a $2,200 tax bill that state administrative courts had repeatedly ruled they did not even owe.
— Just Compensation: The complicated Supreme Court debate over whether "just compensation" under the Fifth Amendment means pre-foreclosure fair market value (appraised at $194,000) or the depressed auction price ($76,000).
— Justice Thomas's Concurrence: A breakdown of Justice Thomas's argument, relying on founding-era history, that property is a natural, fundamental right and the government exists to protect it—not the other way around.
Creators and Guests
Host
Guest
Guest
Clayton Calvin
Clayton Calvin is an attorney with the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for the American Future. He has worked on a variety of constitutional matters, focusing mainly on separation-of-powers and federalism issues and narrowing the scope of administrative power. Prior to joining the Foundation, he worked with Colorado’s Independence Institute on constitutional and budget issues, and worked independently to limit qualified immunity and to defend the constitutional right to earn a living.
What is Rightly Decided?
Rightly Decided is a legal podcast from the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Center for the American Future, whose attorneys defend the Constitution through legal opposition to government overreach.