Report: Federal Judge Allows Census Lawsuit to Proceed

A federal judge in Maryland is allowing a lawsuit over the Trump administration's plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census proceed, The Hill reports.

"The parties will be permitted to present evidence outside of the administrative record at trial; the defense will be permitted to argue at the close of trial that such evidence should not be considered in the Court's final decision," U.S. District Court Judge George J. Hazel wrote in his decision Wednesday, rejecting a request from the Trump administration to dismiss the suit.

Several lawsuits have challenged the decision by the Trump administration, including this one filed by a group of residents from Maryland to Arizona in coordination with Latino and Asian-American groups.

The suit claims Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross misused his discretion by adding the question, "Is this person a citizen of the United States?" to the census in March. Plaintiffs are also arguing using the census to ask about U.S. citizenship status in the current political climate violates the Constitution.

Three federal courts so far have issued decisions rejecting motions to dismiss five lawsuits.

Hazel's ruling follows similar orders by judges in California and New York. The California case is scheduled to go to trial in January.

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