Manatt’s John Libby, leader of the firm’s investigations and white collar defense group, spoke with Law360 on the proposed citizenship question officially being dropped from the 2020 census.
On June 27, the Supreme Court ruled that the Department of Commerce’s efforts to add a citizenship question to the upcoming census was “contrived” and failed to provide enough of an explanation for its addition. Following the ruling, President Trump tweeted that he planned to delay the census in order to give the Department of Commerce enough time to provide the Supreme Court with more information.
"I think we can safely dismiss that, and given the Department of Justice and Commerce Department's decision today, it's kind of moot," Libby said, adding that delaying the census would be unconstitutional and that he was pleased with the government’s decision to drop the question.
Libby and a team of Manatt attorneys, along with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Public Counsel, served as counsel to the city of San Jose and the Black Alliance for Just Immigration in a related citizenship case in California in March. The team also filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, arguing that the question’s addition was unconstitutional, arbitrary and capricious.
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