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Jesse Furman, US District Judge. Photo: Rick Kopstein
The United States Supreme Court rejected a request by the Trump administration to suspend the testimony of US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and a US Department of Justice official in the US-led census case. Attorney General Barbara Underwood in New York.
Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg stated in an order provided by a Supreme Court spokeswoman that these depositions, as well as other elements of discovery, could be heard in the trial as scheduled, the court considering a ruling in July by the district court authorizing the discovery Case.
"The request is denied without prejudice, provided that the Court of Appeal gives sufficient time to one or both parties to seek redress before that court before the statements in question are made. taken, "wrote Ginsburg.
The statements of Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, John Gore and Ross, are scheduled for October 10 and 11, respectively. The US Second Circuit Court of Appeal suspended Ross's testimony while considering the decision of US District Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York authorizing it. The second circuit rejected a request from the administration to suspend Gore's testimony earlier this week.
Furman's decision to allow Ross's testimony is scheduled for the second circuit on Oct. 9, just two days before his testimony. The discovery of the case is expected to end on October 12, with a firm trial date set by Furman on Nov. 5.
The Trump administration formally asked the US Supreme Court this week to review a decision by Furman last July, which allowed the discovery of new cases in the case, which resulted in the filing of applications. deposit of Ross and Gore. The second circuit rejected the request of the administration requesting a writ of mandamus on the decision of last month.
Neither Commerce nor the US Department of Justice immediately commented on the Supreme Court ruling on Friday afternoon.
At the same time, Furman rejected the Trump administration's argument Friday that all intra-agency and inter-agency communications requested by the Underwood office in the lawsuit should be favored.
He stated in his decision that, while some agency communications on a citizenship issue in the census are protected by the privilege of the deliberation process, many documents that the administration wishes not to retain do not exist. are not.
Department of Justice lawyers wanted to prevent Underwood's office from obtaining certain documents by discovery that they felt were part of the government's decision-making process on citizenship.
The Underwood office had sought to force the administration to produce these documents last month. They indicated in a document that the documents concerned communications within the Trump administration after the decision had already been made to add the issue of citizenship, which would exempt them from the privilege of the deliberation process .
Furman, in part, agreed with the Underwood office's decision Friday, saying the privilege only protected pre-decision communications that were also part of the policy process. Any other interpretation would exclude a volume of communications from a discovery that has no real reason not to be withheld, Furman said.
"In other words, when e-mail communications are little more than deliberations on how to transform a previous decision, or simply an effort to ensure the consistency of an agency's statement with its previous decision, the protection would contribute little to the achievement of the underlying objectives. privilege, "wrote Furman.
Furman authorized the administration to retain certain documents requested by the Underwood office in the lawsuit. He prevented the bureau from getting drafts of the "Gary letter," DOJ's letter to the Commerce Department of December 2017 formally asking the agency to re-establish the citizenship issue.
It also allowed the administration not to send e-mail regarding a pending public document request or response to a Commissioner of the United States Civil Rights Commission.
The two decisions rendered on Friday are the latest in a series that dismissed requests from the Trump administration to withhold documents or suspend discovery. Since August, Furman has rejected two requests from the administration to suspend the examination for discovery pending a review by the higher courts.
The Underwood office welcomed the consistent case law that denied the administration's requests. A spokeswoman for the office did not comment further on Friday's decisions.
The Underwood office launched the lawsuit in April after the Commerce Department announced that it would add a question on the immigration status to the next census. Underwood's office argued that the issue would decrease census participation in states with large immigrant populations, such as New York.
This could reduce the number of representatives of these states in Congress and the Electoral College, argued the office of Underwood. It could also mean less federal funding in areas such as education and health care. Seventeen more states have joined Underwood.
Senior Court Counsel Elena Goldstein and Deputy Attorney General Matthew Colangelo lead the case in New York. Kate Bailey is the senior lawyer of the Trump administration.
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