Timeline in Department of Commerce v. New York (June 27, 2019)

2018

March 26 - Sec’y Ross announces plan to add citizenship question to main census form

March 26 - California files suit in Northern District of California challenging the citizenship question (before Judge Seeborg)

April 3 - suit filed in federal court in Manhattan (before Judge Furman)

April 11 - suit filed in federal court in Maryland (before Judge Hazel)

Aug. 15 - Judge Furman grants plaintiffs permission to depose John Gore

Sept. 21 - Judge Furman grants plaintiffs permission to depose Wilbur Ross

Oct. 22 - Supreme Court stays the district court order granting permission to depose Secretary Ross, but denies federal government request to stay other discovery orders

Oct. 29 - federal government files petition asking Supreme Court to review district court’s grant of discovery orders

Nov. 16 - Supreme Court grants federal government’s petition and schedules oral argument for Feb. 19, 2019 to consider the evidentiary issues  

Nov. 5-27 - trial held before Judge Furman in the New York case.

2019

Jan. 15 - Judge Furman issues decision barring the citizenship question due to violations of the APA and the Census Act.

Jan. 17 - plaintiffs in NY lawsuit ask Supreme Court to dismiss the grant of certiorari to review the evidentiary issues as moot

Jan. 18 - Supreme Court dismisses the grant of certiorari to review the evidentiary issues

Jan. 25 - federal government files a petition for a writ of certiorari asking the Supreme Court to review Judge Furman’s decision prohibiting the citizenship question

Jan. 25 - federal government asks for expedited consideration of its petition

Feb. 15 - Supreme Court grants the federal government’s petition and agrees to review the district court decision setting oral argument for April 23rd

Mar. 6 - Judge Seeborg issues his opinion in the California case finding violations of the APA and the Enumeration Clause and enjoins Secretary Ross from including the citizenship question

April 5 - Judge Hazel issues his opinion in the Maryland case finding violations of the APA and the Enumeration Clause

April 8 - the federal government gave notice that it was appealing Judge Hazel’s decision to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals

Apr. 23 - oral argument in Department of Commerce v. New York.

June 3 - plaintiffs in the Maryland case ask that the record in the case be reopened to introduce new evidence from Dr. Hofeller’s files and that the case be remanded in part from the Fourth Circuit for that purpose.

June 25 - Fourth Circuit allows Judge Hazel to consider the new evidence from Dr. Hofeller’s files in connection with the equal protection claim

June 27 - Supreme Court issues its opinion in Department of Commerce v. New York finding a violation of the APA and barring the inclusion of the citizenship question unless the Department can offer a different explanation for its decision to include the question

June 28 - Supreme Court vacates district court decision in the California case and remands the case in light of its June 27th decision in Department of Commerce v. New York

July 11 - federal government announces it is abandoning its plan to add a citizenship question and President Trump issues an executive order authorizing the Department of Commerce to collect citizenship information from other agencies of the federal government.

July 16 - Judge Furman issues order permanently enjoining Commerce Department from adding a citizenship question and retaining jurisdiction in the case until Dec. 31, 2020

Sept. 13 - lawsuit filed in the federal district court in Maryland by MALDEF and AAJC arguing Trump Administration’s plan to collect and distribute citizenship data to the states is racially discriminatory effort to dilute minority voting rights.