The Definition of “A”

Remember when the then President said “That depends on the definition of what is, is”?

So, now the Supreme Court has spent 40 pages arguing over what the word “a” means.

The case involved a deportation hearing for a gentleman who had been in the U.S. for eith years.

Per Law 360, the U.S. “government sent him a document announcing deportation proceedings against him, following up two months later with a notice containing the time and place of his deportation hearing.”

The statute says that the government must send “a notice” of your hearing. So, the question was whether the two notices counted as “a” notice.

The two Trump appointed Justices bickered over the issue, with Justice Gorsuch writing for the 6-3 majority that “a” notice must be one notice containing all pertinent information.

The argument that if you buy “a car” you wouldn’t expect to get the engine on the first day, the wheels three days later and the undercarriage in a week (to paraphrase).

The case: Niz-Chavez v. Garland, case no. 19-863.

https://www.law360.com/articles/1380586?sidebar=true

About JeffKoeppel

I am a corporate/securities attorney in the Washington, DC area. Prior to joining the firm, I was a Senior Attorney Advisor in the Division of Corporation Finance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. I am a member of the Bars of the States of Maryland, New York and the District of Columbia. You can also follow this blog on LinkedIn at: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jeffrey-a-koeppel/0/63/5a9
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