When it is your living room wall.

Our most recent takings case involved a home owned by Mrs. Eggleston. Her son had a shoot out with the police, leaving bullet holes and perhaps blood on the center loading bearing wall of the house. Although mom had nothing to do with the criminal activity, her home was rendered uninhabitable when the police removed the entire wall for evidence, seven years ago.

Mrs. Eggleston then went to court claiming the government took her property without just compensation, contrary to the eminent domain clause of the state constitution. In a very lonely dissent, I thought she had a good point. But a majority of the court went the other way. See Eggleston v. Pierce County, 148 Wn. 2d 760 (2003).