By The Republican Editorials

The law is complicated, but for it to serve a civil society, it must be inherently fair. The plight of a Springfield woman now before the Supreme Judicial Court smacks of unfairness.

It is legal in Massachusetts for people in arrears on property taxes to face foreclosure on their homes. In the course of that, they have lost more than the security of shelter and dollar value of what’s owed to a municipality.

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling, Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minnesota, that is likely to end this greedy feasting on misfortune. The high court found that this process violates the “Takings Clause” of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling stands in conflict with Chapter 60 of the Massachusetts General Laws.

Springfield homeowner Ashley Mills and two legal groups want the SJC to broker an end to this practice. Attorney Frank Bailey, of the Pioneer Public Interest Law Center, says the Massachusetts statute contains language akin to what the high court found unconstitutional in Minnesota. New York and Nebraska have adjusted laws in light of the decision.

Massachusetts appears poised to join that movement away from a deeply unjust practice. After the May ruling, the Massachusetts Land Court said municipalities engaged in tax foreclosure cases must “provide just compensation to property owners.”