Nine state supreme courts and 44 state legislatures subsequently strengthened criteria for allowing eminent domain, according to the Institute for Justice, a public-interest law firm focused on property rights.

WSJ: Battle of the Beach

The Institute for Justice--a public-interest law firm that fights to protect free speech--is challenging laws in several states that effectively inhibit free speech in this way.

FORBES: What Next? Ban Elections?

The payments give authorities an "improper profit incentive" to seize assets, says Scott Bullock of the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public-interest law firm in Arlington, Va.

WSJ: Federal Asset Seizures and Forfeitures Rise; 'Equitable Sharing' Grows