No reason to extend census, attorneys say
With the number of U.S. households counted topping 95 percent, there is no reason for a judge to order the U.S. Census Bureau to extend by a month the head count of every U.S. resident, government attorneys said Tuesday.
“Plaintiffs’ claims of harm in this matter are rapidly evaporating,” the government attorneys said in court papers ahead of a virtual court hearing in San Jose, Calif., over whether the 2020 census should stop Sept. 30 or continue through Oct. 31.
Census Bureau officials say they are on target to meet their goal of reaching at least 99 percent of U.S. households by the end of the month. But a coalition of cities, counties and civil rights groups have sued the statistical agency and the Department of Commerce in an effort to extend the 2020 census for another month, saying the shortened schedule will miss minority communities.
The judge in the San Jose case earlier this month issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Census Bureau from winding down 2020 census operations until she could issue a ruling. Plaintiffs in the San Jose case allege the decision to shorten the schedule was made to accommodate a directive from President Donald Trump. seven others.
After the Jan. 26 crash, reports surfaced that graphic photos of the victims were being shared. Vanessa Bryant was “shocked and devastated” by the reports, the lawsuit states.
The suit seeks damages for negligence, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The victims died when the helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, northwest of Los
Angeles, during cloudy weather. The National Transportation Safety Board has not concluded what caused the crash.