Supreme Court Curbs ID Theft Charges Vs Undocumented Workers

The Supreme Court unanimously overturned a lower court decision that convicted an undocumented steelworker of "knowingly" using a Social Security number that belonged to someone else. The decision does not help the worker as to deportation, but he is free of the criminal charge of identity theft. "Knowingly" means "knowingly" according to the court. Prosecutors can not argue on the assumption the user knew the card belong to another person. This will have implications for the Postville, IA, raids, since over 400 workers were charged or threatened with identity theft which carries a prison term. (See New York Times article.)