A letter that emerged yesterday from the fax machine
in the Weare Town Hall has thrust Supreme Court
Justice David Souter's beloved farmhouse into a
national debate over property rights.
Souter, a longtime Weare resident, joined in a court
decision last week that allows governments to seize
private property from one owner and turn it over to
another if doing so would benefit a community. Now, an
outraged Californian wants to test the ruling - by
asking Weare's selectmen to let him replace Souter's
farm with a posh hotel.
"A recent Supreme Court decision. . . . clears the way
for this land to be taken," Logan Darrow Clements
wrote in a letter faxed to town officials yesterday.
"The justification for such an eminent domain action
is that our hotel will better serve the public
interest as it will bring in economic development and
higher tax revenue to Weare."
The letter, which included Souter's street address,
was posted on conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh's Web
site yesterday afternoon, spurring concerns in town
about the reclusive justice's safety and privacy.
Souter was attacked last year while jogging in his
Washington, D.C. neighborhood, although the police
there believe it was not related to his work in the
court. While most locals here know where he lives,
they respect the justice's desire for solitude.
Yesterday, for example, town officials blacked out his
address before sending a copy of a letter about the
hotel project to the Monitor.
Souter couldn't be reached by phone yesterday and had
not yet returned to Weare last evening, but a few
police cruisers were parked on the edge of his
property.
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