Under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, private property can be taken for a public purpose as long as just compensation is paid from whom the property was taken. Decided November 22, 1954 (argued October 19, 1954). Opinion of the Court: William O. Douglas → go there Applied: the Fifth Amendment → go there Topic: Takings Clause. Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that interpreted the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court voted 8–0 to hold that private property could be taken for a public purpose with just compensation. The case laid the foundation for the Court's later important public use cases, Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff, 467 U.S. 229 (1984) and Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005). Wiki link