diff --git a/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/utils/StringUtils.java b/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/utils/StringUtils.java
index 9b701b22d..33f713e43 100644
--- a/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/utils/StringUtils.java
+++ b/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/utils/StringUtils.java
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ public class StringUtils {
     }
     
     public static String quote(String s) {
-        boolean b = s.isEmpty();
         return isEmpty(s) ? "" : '"' + s + '"';
     }