I just saw this and no one appears to have written about it here. Today the Supreme Court cancelled arguments in an appeal that was supposed to come before it a month from now regarding the administration’s attempt to add a question about citizenship in the 2020 census.
Supreme Court drops 2020 census case
By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter
Updated 5:31 PM ET, Fri January 18, 2019
Washington (CNN)The Supreme Court said on Friday that it will no longer hear a case related to the Trump administration's decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
At issue in the case -- which was set to be argued February 19 -- was a discovery dispute concerning whether challengers to the move could introduce evidence at trial outside of the official record, including the testimony of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
Since the court agreed to hear the case however, a federal judge in New York struck the citizenship question without relying upon the Ross deposition.
The lower court's opinion likely rendered the case before the Supreme Court moot. On Friday, the justices removed it from the court's calendar and filed a docket entry noting that the "briefing schedule is suspended pending further order from the court."
While a blow for the administration, it’s not the end of the matter, as the reason it cancelled the scheduled arguments was because the decision by District Court judge Jesse Furman this week to remove the citizenship question from the census made the appeal moot, since it stemmed from a separate case that Furman did not rule on.
The court's action on Friday does not mean the larger issue might not make its way back to the Supreme Court. The Trump administration has already signaled that it plans to appeal the district court decision penned by Judge Jesse Furman of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, to the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals. The administration might also file an emergency petition with the Supreme Court at a later date.
So, a victory for justice and equality—and Dems’ electoral chances in the years to come—but not the end of this matter.
Update: I added the word “DIFFERENT” to the title so folks wouldn’t get their hopes up that the matter is completely settled. It’s not. See Rugbymom’s very helpful comment below.