If the Supreme Court punts on citizenship question, here's a Hail Mary attempt to strike it down
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There’s a new longshot (very long, Hail Mary long) possibility for striking down the Trump administration’s partisan and racist census citizenship question, after a federal judge in Maryland said he would reopen a lawsuit to consider whether the citizenshIf the Supreme Court punts on citizenship question, here's a Hail Mary attempt to strike it down
There’s a new longshot (very long, Hail Mary long) possibility for striking down the Trump administration’s partisan and racist census citizenship question, after a federal judge in Maryland said he would reopen a lawsuit to consider whether the citizenship question was aimed specifically at diminishing the political power of Hispanic voters. The big question now—what makes this such a very long shot—is what the Supreme Court will do. U.S. District Judge George Hazel had previously struck down the citizenship question without ruling on the issue of discriminatory intent. Now, with the evidence that Republican redistricting expert Thomas Hofeller did argue that a citizenship question would be “advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites,” Hazel writes that “Plaintiffs’ new evidence potentially connects the dots between a discriminatory purpose—diluting Hispanics’ political power—and Secretary Ross’s decision.” But Hazel can’t overrule the Supreme Court, which could any day now announce that it’s going ahead, despite the evidence of discriminatory intent, and saying that the Trump administration can rig the entire census. What would it take to make Hazel’s willingness to reopen the case potentially decisive? “First, the Supreme Court would have to punt on the question in some form, either by sending it back to the lower courts or by issuing a narrow ruling that doesn’t touch on the equal-protection questions Hazel hopes to address,” Ari Berman reports. “Then, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is currently considering an appeal of Hazel’s ruling and has scheduled oral arguments for July 2, would need to remand the case to Hazel.” By far the most likely outcome, though, remains that the Trump Supreme Court will give the Trump administration the go-ahead to implement its “advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites” citizenship question. Read more