The U.S. Supreme Court this week presented a unanimous verdict in a suit regarding attorney-client privileges. Justice Sonia Sotomayor read the court’s opinion on Mohawk Industries Inc. v. Carpenter, a decision Bloomberg described as a “setback to businesses”. The ruling also implicated “an expansive view of executive power on the ‘state secrets privilege’" that was championed by the Bush administration and upheld by the Obama White House.Aside from granting her first high court opinion, Sotomayor reportedly had a hand in a change in semantics that could become de rigueur in future verdicts:
In an otherwise dry opinion, Justice Sotomayor did introduce one new and politically charged term into the Supreme Court lexicon.The Supreme Court’s use of a more neutral phrase is a welcome move though ultimately what matters most is the content of their verdicts and how they will affect Americans.
Justice Sotomayor’s opinion in the case, Mohawk Industries v. Carpenter, No. 08-678, marked the first use of the term “undocumented immigrant,” according to a legal database. The term “illegal immigrant” has appeared in a dozen decisions.
(Hat tip: ImmigrationProf Blog via Think Progress).
Image- Forbes.com
Online Sources- ImmigrationProf Blog, New York Times, Think Progress, Bloomberg, CNN
1 comment:
from Clermont - it is interesting to see that you believe that Undocumented Worker is a neutral term for Illegal Alien. Illegal Alien is a neutral term - it refers to a non-US citizen residing illegally in the USA. That is what illegal aliens are doing. Whether or not you or I believe that there should be a legal programme in the industrially-developed countries to facilitate the hiring of foreign nationals in industries where there is surplus of employment, those foreign nationals that arrive to other countries without legal residency and work and/or overstay the legal limits are there ILLEGALLY. It is a crime. I have had the pleasure of working in many countries both legally and illegally (this latter one when I was in my 20's and I accepted my status and the risk. I know that I will never receive those funds withheld in my paycheques from those companies where I worked illegally. That is one of the considerations when accepting a job illegally - one must way the benefits, risks and disadvantages. And for many Mexican and Central Americans coming to a country like the US where they can cheaply obtain 24/7 running water and electricity, clean sanitary living conditions, no leaking roofs, no mordidas, etc. is a bargain in comparison to the inherent risks and limitations of living in the USA illegally.
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