The Department of Justice has asked the Supreme Court to hear a case involving whether a question about citizenship on the U.S. Census violates the Constitution, Talking Points Memo reports.
Solicitor General Noel Francisco sent a letter to the Supreme Court on Monday asking the court to weigh in on an appeal of a New York case following a California judge's ruling the question is unconstitutional.
"In light of that finding, only if the Court addresses respondents' Enumeration Clause claim can its decision definitively resolve whether the Secretary may reinstate a question about citizenship to the 2020 decennial census," Francisco wrote.
The Supreme Court already is scheduled to hear oral arguments about a New York case involving the citizenship question, in which a federal judge ruled the Trump administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act, but did not rule on whether the question itself is allowed by the Constitution.
"In the alternative, if the Court has any concerns about addressing respondents' Enumeration Clause claim in this case, it should grant the government's petition in the California case and consolidate that case with this one for oral argument," Francisco wrote.