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Case Name
Alabama v. United States Dep't of Commerce
PB-AL-0018
Docket / Court
2:18-cv-00772 ( N.D. Ala. )
State/Territory
Alabama
Case Type(s)
Election/Voting Rights
Public Benefits / Government Services
Attorney Organization
Lawyers Comm. for Civil Rights Under Law
MALDEF
Case Summary
On May 21, 2018, Alabama and a representative from its Fifth Congressional District filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The case was assigned to District Judge R. David Proctor. The plaintiffs sued the United States Department of Commerce and the ...
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On May 21, 2018, Alabama and a representative from its Fifth Congressional District filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The case was assigned to District Judge R. David Proctor. The plaintiffs sued the United States Department of Commerce and the United States Census Bureau under the Actual Enumeration Clause of Article I Section 2 of the Constitution, the Congressional Apportionment and Electoral College Apportionment Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Declaratory Judgments Act. Represented by the Alabama Attorney General, the plaintiffs sought injunctive and declaratory relief, alleging that the Census Bureau’s policy of including all U.S. residents in the census count totals used for apportioning congressional seats and electoral votes, regardless of residents' citizenship status, was unconstitutional. They specifically alleged that including undocumented individuals in the population count deprived Alabama of its “rightful share of political representation,” because it had fewer undocumented immigrants relative to other states. The state also alleged that counting undocumented individuals violated the Constitution’s provisions governing congressional apportionment and the electoral college, as well as the federal government’s constitutional duty to conduct an “actual enumeration” of the population. The plaintiff claimed that it was harmed when it received less federal funding than other states because of its relatively low level of undocumented immigrants, and further argued that the Bureau’s policy of counting undocumented individuals was “arbitrary and capricious” and “contrary to law” under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
Over three dozen entities intervened as defendants, including 15 states, 6 counties, 9 cities, 2 organizations, 6 individuals, and the District of Columbia.
The Census Bureau moved to dismiss for lack of standing. The court, concluding that Alabama had adequately alleged Article III standing, dismissed the Bureau’s motion on June 5, 2019. 396 F.Supp.3d 1044.
On September 10, 2019, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, omitting its original claim that “the defendant’s decision to include illegal aliens in the census enumeration will likely cause the State of Alabama to lose federal and private funding.” On October 1, intervenor defendant Chicanos Por La Causa and six individuals filed a cross-claim against the federal government defendants, seeking a declaration that it would be unconstitutional for the Census Bureau to omit undocumented immigrants in the population totals it reports to the President and Congress for purposes of apportionment; an injunction barring the Census Bureau from reporting a tabulation omitting undocumented immigrants; and attorneys’ fees and costs.
As of June 23, 2020, dispositive motions are due by October 21, 2020.
Michael Beech - 02/09/2019
Bogyung Lim - 06/15/2020
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Issues and Causes of Action
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Issues
Defendant-type
Jurisdiction-wide
Discrimination-basis
Immigration status
Plaintiff Type
State Plaintiff
Causes of Action
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.
Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201
Case Details
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Defendant(s)
15 States
6 Counties
9 Cities
Chicanos Por La Causa
District of Columbia
United States Census Bureau
United States Conference of Mayors
Plaintiff Description
The State of Alabama and one of its representatives in Congress.
Indexed Lawyer Organizations
Lawyers Comm. for Civil Rights Under Law
MALDEF
Class action status sought
No
Class action status granted
No
Filed Pro Se
No
Prevailing Party
None Yet / None
Public Int. Lawyer
Yes
Nature of Relief
None yet
Source of Relief
None yet
Filed
05/21/2018
Case Ongoing
Yes
Additional Resources
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See this case
at CourtListener.com
(May provide additional documents and, for active cases, real-time alerts)
Alabama v. United States Dep’t of Commerce
Brennan Center
Date: February 11, 2019
(Brennan Center)
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
2020 Census Litigation
(The Brennan Center)
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
Documents
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Court
Docket(s)
N.D. Ala.
06/11/2020
2:18-cv-00772
PB-AL-0018-9000.pdf
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Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
General Documents
N.D. Ala.
05/21/2018
Complaint [ECF# 1]
PB-AL-0018-0001.pdf
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Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
N.D. Ala.
12/13/2018
Memorandum Order Granting Motion to Intervene [ECF# 53]
PB-AL-0018-0002.pdf
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Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
N.D. Ala.
06/05/2019
Memorandum Opinion [ECF# 84]
(396 F.Supp.3d 1044)
PB-AL-0018-0003.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
People
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Judges
Proctor, R. David
(N.D. Ala.)
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PB-AL-0018-0002 | PB-AL-0018-0003 | PB-AL-0018-9000
Plaintiff's Lawyers
Brooks, Morris J. Jr.
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-0001 | PB-AL-0018-9000
Chynoweth, Brad A.
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-0001 | PB-AL-0018-9000
Davis, James William
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-0001 | PB-AL-0018-9000
Lacour, Edward Gerard
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Marshall, Steven T.
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-0001 | PB-AL-0018-9000
Palmer, Eric Michael
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-0001 | PB-AL-0018-9000
Sinclair, Winfield J.
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-0001 | PB-AL-0018-9000
Smith, Brenton Merrill
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Defendant's Lawyers
Blacksher, James U.
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Boutin, Gabrielle Downey
(California)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Colangelo, Matthew
(New York)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Cover, Miranda Mercedes
(Massachusetts)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
DeFever, Jeanne Nicole
(Oregon)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Dolecki, Lauren M.
(New York)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Goldstein, Elena Stacy
(New York)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Goldstein, Danielle Luce
(California)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Gomez Hernandez, Julia Alejandra
(California)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Hamid, Jyotin R.
(New York)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Hulett, Denise M.
(California)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Kusmin, Ryan M.
(District of Columbia)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Lynch, Ann E.
(Massachusetts)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Meyer, Amanda
(New York)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Morgan, Elizabeth
(New York)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Mujumdar, Anil A.
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Perales, Nina
(Texas)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Quinones, Marcelo
(California)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Ragsdale, Barry A.
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Rajendra, Raphael N
(California)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Rand, Paul Hartmann
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Rosenberg, Brad P.
(District of Columbia)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Rosenberg, Ezra
(District of Columbia)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Saenz, Thomas A.
(California)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Saini, Ajay
(New York)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Segall, Robert D.
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Senteno, Andrea E.
(District of Columbia)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Spence, Dorian
(District of Columbia)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Still, W Edward
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Sverdlov, Alexander V.
(District of Columbia)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Thurston, Robin Frances
(District of Columbia)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Vance, Robert S. Jr.
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Vance, Joyce White
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Wardenski, Joseph
(New York)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Weissglass, Jonathan
(California)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Wise, R Matthew
(California)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Yang, Ming Ming
(New York)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Other Lawyers
Hajec, Christopher J.
(District of Columbia)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Hethmon, Michael M.
(District of Columbia)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
Williams, Stephen W.
(Alabama)
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PB-AL-0018-9000
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