It looks like the Supreme Court has ruled against added the question about citizenship to the Census for now. It’s being called a complicated decision, but here’s the bottom line:
#SCOTUS block census citizenship question for now, remanding it in a complicated decision that essentially states that the Trump admin’s reason for adding the question was pretextual. Wow. Didn’t expect this after the argument.
— Kimberly Atkins (@KimberlyEAtkins) June 27, 2019
#BREAKING: #SCOTUS rules 5-4 against the #Trump administration’s efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census; Chief Justice John Roberts joined liberal judges in ruling #LiveDesk pic.twitter.com/NrECqK6Vxq
— Dan Snyder (@DanSnyderFOX25) June 27, 2019
The upshot of the census decision is that Roberts votes with the left to remand to the Commerce Department to provide a non-pretextual explanation for the question. For now, the question is out. It is unclear if there is enough time left to add it back in.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2019
The #SCOTUS opinion in Department of Commerce v. New York is available on the Supreme Court’s website at this link: https://t.co/AZdArXO2VN
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2019
Good old John Roberts. He never fails to disappoint.
Because the decision is so complex some are saying that while the Supreme Court did block it for now, it has been remanded down to the lower courts and it’s technically not over yet.
SCOTUS sides in part w/ Trump admin on citizenship question in the census, saying it doesn’t violate federal law or the Enumeration Clause of the Constitution.
HOWEVER, it also sends case back to lower courts for further explanation of decision.
Question still blocked for now.
— Nate Madden (@NateOnTheHill) June 27, 2019
So I guess it wasn’t a total loss…
UPDATE: Here’s what J. Christian Adams had to say about this ruling if it helps to clarify it:
“Chief Justice Roberts unfortunately was the deciding vote,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “He agreed with the arguments of the institutional Left that how the Census question was added was more important than the common sense of asking the question in the first place. This is an unfortunate victory for the Swamp that opposed collecting facts about how many aliens are in the United States.”
The high court also decided in a 5-4 decision that ruling on political gerrymandering is outside of it’s purview:
#SCOTUS rules that partisan-gerrymandering challenges to electoral maps are political questions that are not reviewable in federal court, dismissing challenges by Dem. voters to NC congressional map drawn by Rep. officials and by Rep. voters to 1 district drawn by Dems in Md.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2019
#BREAKING: 5-4 #SCOTUS, in an opinion by Chief Justice Roberts, holds that partisan gerrymandering claims are categorically non-justiciable, and cannot be resolved by federal courts.
Huge, huge decision:https://t.co/ImKkv3soqp
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) June 27, 2019
In a 5-4 decision, SCOTUS rules that “partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts.” Translation: the Constitution empowers Congress and state legislatures, not courts, to draw political districts. https://t.co/K3R60wyUB9 pic.twitter.com/QSJCek6S02
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) June 27, 2019
The ruling fell along ‘partisan lines’ and in a somewhat rare move Kagan read her dissent in front of the court.