Chinese Wall - Objection To Use of The Phrase

Objection To Use of The Phrase

At least one California judge has taken offense to the phrase Chinese Wall. In Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. v. Superior Court 200 Cal.App.3d 272, 293–294, 245 Cal.Rptr. 873, 887–888 (1988), Presiding Justice Low wrote:

The term has an ethnic focus which many would consider a subtle form of linguistic discrimination. Certainly, the continued use of the term would be insensitive to the ethnic identity of the many persons of Chinese descent. Modern courts should not perpetuate the biases which creep into language from outmoded, and more primitive, ways of thought.

Other alternative phrases include screen (screening), firewall, cone of silence, and ethical wall. Screen or the verb to screen is the preferred term under the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct, a code of legal ethics that has been highly influential throughout the jurisdictions of the United States.

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