While the Constitution grants Congress the authority to conduct the census, they have delegated that authority to the Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce.
When Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross decided to add a question on citizenship to the 2020 census, the city of New York and others asserted that he had failed to follow the appropriate administrative procedures and had violated the Constitution’s enumeration clause.
How much authority is granted to the Census Bureau and Department of Commerce in conducting the census? Amy Howe of Howe on the Court considers the administrative procedures surrounding the census in Department of Commerce v. New York. Oral argument is April 23, 2019.
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no particular legal or public policy positions. All opinions expressed are those of the speaker.
Learn more about Amy Howe:
http://amylhowe.com/
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Related Links & Differing Views:
Reuters: “U.S. high court broadens scope of census citizenship question case”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-census/u-s-high-court-broadens-scope-of-census-citizenship-question-case-idUSKCN1QW2MC
The Atlantic: “A Supreme Court Case That Will Affect Every Aspect of National Life”
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/04/can-census-ask-about-citizenship/587503/
Constitution Daily: “Does the census actually count everyone and should it?”
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/does-the-census-actually-count-everyone-and-should-it
SCOTUSblog: “Argument preview: Justices will review challenge to census citizenship question”
https://www.scotusblog.com/2019/04/argument-previewjustices-will-review-challenge-to-census-citizenship-question/
The Washington Post: “In high-stakes census case, Supreme Court will dissect Trump’s effort to catalogue noncitizens”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/in-high-stakes-census-case-supreme-court-will-dissect-trumps-effort-to-catalogue-noncitizens/2019/04/20/da39faee-62c8-11e9-bfad-36a7eb36cb60_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6efaa849f422
SCOTUSblog: “Symposium before the oral argument in Department of Commerce v. New York”
https://www.scotusblog.com/category/special-features/symposia-before-oral-arguments-of-october-term-2018/symposium-before-the-oral-argument-in-department-of-commerce-v-new-york/
