The Briefing Room

General Category => National/Breaking News => SCOTUS News => Topic started by: Elderberry on June 21, 2019, 01:17:59 am

Title: Government urges court to decide census case now
Post by: Elderberry on June 21, 2019, 01:17:59 am

SCOTUSblog by Amy Howe 6/20/2019

Last week the challengers in the dispute over the decision to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census asked the justices to put off their ruling because of new evidence in the case. Today the federal government responded, describing the challengers’ claim as “meritless” and urging the justices to deny the request.

The justices heard oral argument in the case in April, after a federal district judge in New York blocked the government from using the question on the ground that the government’s conduct violated the federal laws governing administrative agencies.

After the oral argument, the challengers notified the Supreme Court about new evidence suggesting that Thomas Hofeller, a Republican redistricting strategist, was involved in the decision to add the citizenship question to the census, to provide whites and Republicans with an advantage in future elections. The challengers returned to the Supreme Court approximately two weeks later, telling the justices that the district court had concluded that the new allegations were “serious,” but that its hands were tied while the case was pending before the Supreme Court.

More: https://www.scotusblog.com/2019/06/government-urges-court-to-decide-census-case-now/#more-287120 (https://www.scotusblog.com/2019/06/government-urges-court-to-decide-census-case-now/#more-287120)