Manatt’s John Libby, leader of the firm’s investigations and white collar defense group, spoke with NPR about recent rulings by three federal judges on the Trump administration’s request to swap out the team of lawyers defending its push to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.
U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg of California, U.S. District Judge George Hazel of Maryland and U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman of New York all denied the Justice Department’s request to replace its previous team of lawyers from Census cases in these states with new counsel.
Libby said that during a hearing on Wednesday, Seeborg told Department of Justice attorneys that they need to submit a formal request for his approval in order to withdraw and replace their legal team.
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