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A4 U.S. NEWS
Monday 7 SepteMber 2020
Census Bureau must temporarily halt winding down operations

By MIKE SCHNEIDER ment.
Associated Press "The court rightfully recog-
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The nized the Trump adminis-
U.S. Census Bureau for now tration's attempted short-
must stop following a plan circuiting of our nation's
that would have it winding census as an imminent
down operations in order threat to the completion
to finish the 2020 census at of a fair and accurate pro-
the end of September, ac- cess," said Kristen Clarke,
cording to a federal judge's president and executive di-
order. rector of the Lawyers' Com-
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh mittee for Civil Rights Under
in San Jose, California, is- Law, one of the groups that
sued a temporary restrain- brought the San Jose law-
ing order late Saturday suit.
against the Census Bureau In her order, Koh wrote that
and the Commerce De- previous court cases had
partment, which oversees concluded that it's in the
the agency. The order public interest that Con-
stops the Census Bureau gress be fairly apportioned
from winding down opera- and that the federal funds
tions until a court hearing is be distributed using an ac-
held on Sept. 17. curate census.
The once-a-decade head In this April 23, 2019 file photo, immigration activists rally outside the Supreme Court as the justices In a message emailed to
count of every U.S. resident hear arguments over the Trump administration's plan to ask about citizenship on the 2020 census, regional offices and head-
in Washington.
helps determine how $1.5 Associated Press quarters late Saturday, the
trillion in federal funding is Census Bureau said the
distributed and how many the earlier deadline would publican-controlled Sen- revised plan would have statistical agency and the
congressional seats each cause the Census Bureau ate failed to take up the the Census Bureau hand- Commerce Department
state gets in a process to overlook minority com- request, the bureau was ing in the apportionment "are obligated to comply
known as apportionment. munities in the census, forced to create a revised numbers at the end of De- with the Court's Order and
The temporary restraining leading to an inaccurate schedule that had the cen- cember, under the control are taking immediate steps
order was requested by a count. sus ending in September, of the Trump administra- to do so." Further guidance
coalition of cities, counties Because of the pandemic, according to the statistical tion, no matter who wins would be provided later,
and civil rights groups that the Census Bureau pushed agency. the election in November. the bureau said.
had sued the Census Bu- back ending the count The lawsuit contends the More than a half dozen A top Census Bureau of-
reau, demanding it restore from the end of July to Census Bureau changed other lawsuits have been ficial said in court papers
its previous plan for finishing the end of October and the schedule to accom- filed in tandem across filed late Friday that the
the census at the end of asked Congress to ex- modate a directive from the country, challenging bureau wouldn't be able to
October, instead of using a tend the deadline for turn- President Donald Trump Trump's memorandum as meet its deadline to turn in
revised plan to end opera- ing in the apportionment to exclude people in the unconstitutional and an apportionment numbers at
tions at the end of Septem- numbers from December, country illegally from the attempt to limit the power the end of December if the
ber. as required by law, into numbers used in redrawing of Latinos and immigrants head count were extend-
The coalition had argued next spring. When the Re- congressional districts. The of color during apportion- ed an extra month. q

Lawyer of accused Kenosha shooter resigns from defense fund

defend his client and con- owed to investors, accord- defense when he shot the
servative causes. ing to court documents. three people on Aug. 25
Attorney John Pierce is de- Pierce acknowledged in during a third night of pro-
fending Kyle Rittenhouse New York court documents tests over the shooting
against intentional homi- earlier this year that he had of Blake two days earlier,
cide charges for shooting failed to pay Karish Kapital which was captured on
two people to death and $4 million for cash advanc- cellphone video and post-
wounding a third during a es it had made to Pierce's ed online.
night of unrest last month firm, which also has a much The Rittenhouse case has
over the police shooting of large payment of $65 mil- become a political flash-
Jacob Blake, a Black man lion looming for another point. During his Tuesday
who was left paralyzed investor, the newspaper re- visit to Kenosha, President
from the waist down. ported. Donald Trump gave an ac-
Pierce said he resigned Pierce and Lin Wood, an- count at odds with the one
from the #FightBack Foun- other attorney who has given by prosecutors, false-
dation fund, which has taken up high-profile cases ly implying that the teen-
In this Aug. 25, 2020, file photo, Kyle Rittenhouse, left, with raised money to defend championed by conser- ager only shot the men
backwards cap, walks along Sheridan Road in Kenosha, Wis.,
with another armed civilian. Rittenhouse, to avoid any vatives, started the fund after he tripped and they
Associated Press "appearance of conflict," in early August. The fund attacked him.
USA Today reported. Pierce is described as a way to Wood, who now controls
A lawyer representing a Wisconsin, has resigned and his firm, Pierce Bain- "bring lawsuits to check the the foundation, said Pierce
17-year-old charged with from his position with a de- bridge Beck Price & Hecht, lies of the left." would be reimbursed
shooting three people dur- fense fund that has raked have been accused of de- Pierce has argued that for his work defending
ing a protest in Kenosha, in more than $700,000 to faulting on millions of dollars Rittenhouse acted in self- Rittenhouse.q