Trump administration to appeal to Supreme Court in census case
WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump's administration said it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to allow a question about citizenship in the 2020 census, promising to file a quick appeal in the hope of resolving the issue in time to start printing questionnaires in June.
The appeal will challenge a Jan. 15 trial court ruling that barred the Commerce Department from including the question. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in New York said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had committed a "veritable smorgasbord" of violations of the federal law that governs administrative agencies.
After the trial judge's ruling, the high court last week scrapped plans to hear arguments Feb. 19 on a preliminary question in the case.
U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco said in court papers the justices should take the unusual step of skipping the federal appeals court level and directly reviewing Furman's ruling. Francisco said the Census Bureau needs to finalize the questionnaire by the end of June, making the normal appellate process infeasible.
"It is exceedingly unlikely that there is sufficient time for review in both the court of appeals and in this court by that deadline," Francisco wrote. He said the court could hear arguments either during its already-scheduled April sitting or in a special session in May.
Advocacy organizations and a New York-led group of states, cities and counties are suing, saying the citizenship question discriminates against immigrants and will reduce accuracy by lessening participation. A census undercount in areas with large numbers of noncitizens could shift congressional districts and federal dollars away from those communities.
_Bloomberg News
