Use of Motive Evidence in Judicial Review of Downzonings

June 2007
Citation:
37
ELR 10472
Issue
6
Author
Michael Allen Dymersky and Jesse J. Richardson Jr.

Editors' Summary: In this Article, Michael Allen Dymersky and Jesse J. Richardson Jr. examine the widespread rule of judicial review that a court should not consider evidence of motive in reviewing legislative actions by local government. They evaluate the rule in the context of a rezoning case in Highland County, Virginia, in which a group of plaintiffs conclusively established that improper motive prompted one supervisor to vote in favor of rezoning the subject property. The Highland County Circuit Court invoked the rule against judicial review of motive evidence to foreclose any consideration of the admitted improper personal motives that had inspired that particular rezoning. The authors conclude that the rule against judicial review of motive evidence has outlived its usefulness in the context of rezonings and urge a legislative intervention.

Michael Allen Dymersky is a Partner in the law firm of Furey, Doolan & Abell, L.L.P., located in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Jesse J. Richardson Jr. is an Associate Professor of urban affairs and planning in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia.
You must be an ELR-The Environmental Law Reporter subscriber to download the full article.

You are not logged in. To access this content:

Use of Motive Evidence in Judicial Review of Downzonings

SKU: article-23419 Price: $50.00