A Grammar Lesson from the Supreme Court

Today the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T. This opinion is interesting for several reasons. First because it rules that corporations do not have a right to personal privacy under Freedom of Information Act exemptions. Commentators have noted that this is interesting considering the Court held just last year in the Citizens United decision that political spending is a form of free speech and corporations cannot be stopped from exercising that right. However, those same commentators also note that the current case was not a matter of constitutional or common law, but instead a specific and narrow phrase within an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act.

Another reason this opinion is interesting is the actual opinion itself. In the opinion, Chief Justice Roberts takes the time to provide readers with a grammar lesson. Readers learn adjectives do not always reflect the meaning of corresponding nouns and find a few fun examples of such - corn and corny, crab and crabby, crank and cranky. While entertaining, Chief Justice Roberts uses the opinion to remind us all that everything we read must be read carefully and every word we use must be chosen carefully.