  A new formulation of Carter's constant for geodesic motion in Kerr black
holes is given. It is shown that Carter's constant corresponds to the total
angular momentum plus a precisely defined part which is quadratic in the linear
momenta. The characterization is exact in the weak field limit obtained by
letting the gravitational constant go to zero. It is suggested that the new
form can be useful in current studies of the dynamics of extreme mass ratio
inspiral (EMRI) systems emitting gravitational radiation.
