Neither position carried the day. On the one hand, this Court rejected the view that the IDEA gives “courts carte various judgments indicate should be imposed.” Rowley, 458 U. S., at 190, n. 11.

Source: https://www.creativeleadership.net/blog/2017/4/2/special-education-services-just-got-easier-and-harder-the-endrew-f-supreme-court-decision-in-the-courts-own-words

What does carte mean in this context? What does the part in double quotes mean? I tried two legal dictionaries and didn't find it.


It's supposed to be carte blanche, i.e. "blank check". The quotation has left out several words. You can find the full decision at https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/458/176/case.html. The complete sentence is:

It thus seems that the dissent would give the courts carte blanche to impose upon the States whatever burden their various judgments indicate should be imposed.

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    That makes so much more sense. Here I was thinking it was another of those legal terms that looks like a garden variety word, but then it turns out to mean something special. – aparente001 Aug 19 '17 at 3:21

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