Supreme Court expands scope of constitutional question in challenge to census citizenship question News
TeroVesalainen / Pixabay
Supreme Court expands scope of constitutional question in challenge to census citizenship question

The Supreme Court issued an order on Friday to expand the scope of the lawsuit challenging the addition of a citizenship question on the 2020 census.

The order pertains to legal challenge brought on by a coalition made up of the State of New York as well as 16 other states and cities to enjoin the Department of Commerce and Secretary Wilbur Ross from including a citizenship question on the upcoming census. Department of Commerce v. New York primarily focused on the violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, but the order issued by the court now includes whether Ross’ actions also violate Article I, Section 2 Clause 3, the Enumeration Clause, of the Constitution.

The coalition’s argument is that the inclusion of the question would deter immigrants from responding to the Census which would result in an inaccurate count for funding allocation, drawing political districts, and the number of Congressional representatives in each state. The court’s order now provides another avenue and legal ground for the coalition to explore in their attempts to remove the citizenship question from the census.

The Respondents have an additional 2,000 words to argue and brief the new expanded constitutional question, while the Petitioner will have 1,000 words for their answer to the merits.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Kellogg-Briand Pact signed renouncing war

On August 27, 1928, representatives of thirty-two nations gathered in Paris signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of national policy and agreeing to the peaceful settlement of disputes between them. Frank B. Kellogg, the US Secretary of State who proposed the treaty, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in 1929. The treaty's exceptions and qualifications, however, and the absence of any means of enforcement, ultimately guaranteed its failure. Review the text of the Kellogg-Briand pact.