Jill Carico, age 14, of Baton Rouge, La., for her question:

WHAT EXACTLY IS EMINENT DOMAIN?

Eminent domain is the inherent right of a state to force a property ower to sell his property when it is needed for public use. This right is based on the legal rule that all real property is subject to the control of the state, just as all real property in England was once owned by the king.

The legal process of taking over property that the owner has refused to sell is called condemnation. Federal, state and local governments in the United States, and sometimes private corporations, have the right of eminent domain.

Public improvements involving the right of eminent domain include construction of roads, harbors and canals.

Land may also be taken over in this way for public schools, asylums, municipal buildings and housing projects. The state may allow private agencies in which the public is interested, such as railroad companies and power plants, to use the right of eminent domain.

The right of eminent domain by governments originated in the Middle Ages. It once meant the right that an overlord or ruler had over the land farmed by his vassal or tenant.