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The Jefferson Exchange

Exchange Exemplar: When The Supreme Court Spoke Of "Morons"

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The justices in 1928
Library of Congress

Even in an age of heated rhetoric, there are terms most people simply don't use anymore. 

But even the U.S. Supreme Court once subscribed to a scale of intellectual impairment that included terms like "moron," "idiot," and "imbecile."  In fact, the court once backed the state of Virginia's decision to sterilize a young woman. 

Lawyer and writer Adam Cohen wrote about the case in his book Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck.  This is a replay of our 2016 interview with Adam. 

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Geoffrey Riley is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has hosted the Jefferson Exchange on JPR since 2009. He's been a broadcaster in the Rogue Valley for more than 35 years, working in both television and radio.