Federal judge rules against census citizenship question

A federal judge has ruled against the Trump administration’s addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, marking the first major ruling in a controversy that has pitted states and cities against top administration officials and is likely to come before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Judge Jesse Furman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered the administration Tuesday to stop its plans to add the question to the survey. Calling Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’ decision to add the question “arbitrary and capricious,” he blasted Ross for “egregious” violations of the Administrative Procedure Act.

The New York case is the first of three high profile trials around the country that are challenging the question and is likely to be a road map for those trials, legal experts say.

“Today’s ruling will influence them and help them work through the issues,” said Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond’s law school. “This is a comprehensive opinion from a well-respected judge, (and) today’s ruling is going to carry a lot of weight.”

The government will likely appeal Tuesday’s ruling all the way to the Supreme Court. In the interim, other lower courts could weigh in, opening up the possibility that district courts could rule differently on the question.