U.S. Supreme Court Decides Not to Decide Illegal Immigrant Apportionment Case

By EditorDec 18, 2020
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that the White House request to the Census Bureau to modify the population count to exclude undocumented immigrants was not ripe. The per curiam opinion explained that it was premature to resolve the issue of whether the order was constitutional since there were no apportionment numbers available at the time of the oral argument and there was no certainty how the Bureau would implement the memorandum. The wording of the memorandum ordering the Census Bureau to modify the population count gave considerable latitude to officials regarding how and to what extent it would…
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Listen: Supreme Court Oral Argument in Trump Apportionment / Citizenship Case

By EditorDec 01, 2020
On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Trump v. New York. This case challenged an executive memo directing the Census Bureau to report official congressional apportionment data so that it excludes the count of non-citizens. For an in-depth analysis of the arguments, read SCOTUSBlog.com's report. Most expert observers say the court seemed preoccupied with the "ripeness" of the issue, or in layman's parlance - whether or not the administration has done anything yet that could possibly violate a statute or the constitution. Listen to the audio below. https://youtu.be/ePChyVCpI6A
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CA Federal Court Panel Invalidates Presidential Order to Exclude “Illegal Aliens” from Apportionment Count

By EditorOct 26, 2020
On Thursday (Oct. 22) a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Jose Division) issued a final order and opinion invalidating the president's July memorandum that ordered census apportionment numbers exclude undocumented immigrants. A copy of the opinion is here. A federal district court in New York was the first to invalidate the July memorandum in September. That case has been scheduled for oral argument before the Supreme Court on November 30th. The San Jose court declared the presidential memorandum a "violation of the Apportionment and Enumeration Clauses of Article I, Section 2…
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Supreme Court Schedules November Oral Argument in Undocumented Immigrant Apportionment Case

By EditorOct 19, 2020
On Friday, the Supreme Court announced it would expedite an appeal by the Trump administration after a lower district court halted the administration’s plan to exclude people who are in the country illegally from the official apportionment count numbers used in allocating seats in the House of Representatives. Read a synopsis below. Oral arguments are scheduled for November 30, just one month before the statutory deadline for delivering the apportionment numbers to the president.It is not clear if the Census Bureau will be able to meet the December 31 deadline for delivering apportionment numbers, nor is it clear how it…
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Supreme Court Stays Lower Court Restraining Order, Allows Census Counting to End Early

By EditorOct 14, 2020
On Sept. 24th the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction that enjoined the U.S. Census Bureau from ending its counting operations on September 30, extending the time to Oct 31. The Supreme Court issued a stay of this order last Tuesday allowing for census counting to end on Oct. 15. The order included a lone dissent from Justice Sotomayer noting " the government has not satisfied its “especially heavy burden to justify a stay pending appeal of the lower court’s injunction." Read coverage on CNN, NYT, CNBC, and Politico.
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Federal Judge Reprimands Census Bureau for Violating its Restraining Order

Federal Judge Reprimands Census Bureau for Violating its Restraining Order

By EditorOct 05, 2020
On Sept. 24th the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction that enjoins the U.S. Census Bureau from ending its counting operations on September 30, extending the time to Oct 31. On the afternoon of Sept. 28th, despite that court order, the Census Bureau tweeted (see below) that it would be ending field operations on Oct. 5th. Chaos ensued. In a new order issued by the district court on Oct 1, the court clarifies its original order and reprimands administration officials for " further undermining trust in the Bureau and its partners, sowing more…
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Federal Judge Orders Census Count to Continue Through Oct 31

By EditorSep 25, 2020
A U.S. District Judge in the Northern District of California has issued a preliminary injunction that enjoins the U.S. Census Bureau from ending its counting operations on September 30. The order explains that the coalition of plaintiffs - headed by the National Urban League - are likely to succeed in the lawsuit and that shortening the timeframes for data collection and processing by half, necessitate the preliminary injunction. The administration is expected to appeal. Read the order here. While the Census Bureau had originally requested Congress to extend the statutory deadlines for apportionment data delivery to the President and redistricting…
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Restraining Order Halting Census Wind-down Operation is Extended by Judge

By EditorSep 21, 2020
On Thursday, a federal district court judge extended a temporary restraining order barring the Census Bureau from wrapping up its counting operations in order to deliver census results on its statutory time schedule. The plaintiffs in the case are asking the court to compel the Bureau to take more time to complete the nationwide count since it was delayed earlier this Spring due to Covid-19. Listen below to NPR's quick update on how and why this happened. NPR Morning Edition - Court Order Keeps Census In Limbo As Counting End Date Looms 9-17-20 In March, the Bureau had requested an…
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The Supreme Court’s Less Than Graceful Exit from the Thicket

The Supreme Court’s Less Than Graceful Exit from the Thicket

By Michelle DavisJun 27, 2019
The long-awaited partisan gerrymandering decision has come down from the nation's highest court. A 5-4 majority decided to exit the "political thicket" and leave the policing of political gerrymandered redistricting maps to the States, commissions, congress; anybody, except the nine of them. Below are brief excerpts (with explanation) from the both the majority opinion and a passionate dissent from Justice Kagan in the consolidated cases of Lamone v. Benisek, ET Al. (Maryland) and Rucho v. Common Cause, ET Al. (North Carolina). Read the entire case here. The Court: Partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal…
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Listen to Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Maryland Partisan Gerrymandering Case

Listen to Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Maryland Partisan Gerrymandering Case

By Michelle DavisApr 25, 2019
On March 26, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Benesik v. Lamone, a partisan gerrymandering case from Maryland. Click here for background on this case and its companion case, Rucho v. Common Cause (North Carolina). For a pre oral symposium hosted by SCOTUSBlog, click here. Click here to listen to oral argument for Rucho v. Common Cause.
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