Case Summary

On March 10, 2021 the State of Alabama, Alabama’s Attorney General, an Alabama Congressman, and other residents of Alabama filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Census Bureau, and various federal officials challenging the defendants’ decision to implement a new differential privacy system to adjust data from the 2020 decennial census. In what the Census Bureau described as an effort to protect the privacy of census respondents, the data from the 2020 census would include “statistical noise” when it was released, effectively shuffling the population totals and accompanying demographic data for geographic areas smaller than the state level. This meant that all other tabulations which states use when redistricting, including how many people live in a given census block, or how many of those people identify as a certain race or ethnicity, would be adjusted by an unspecified degree.

The plaintiffs alleged the defendants’ decision to produce “manipulated” census data to the states for redistricting would result in the delivery of inaccurate data for geographic regions beyond the state's total population in violation of the Census Act, the Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment, and the Administrative Procedures Act. Additionally, the plaintiffs alleged the Census Bureau’s decision to delay the release of census data to the states until September 30, 2021, well beyond the statutory deadline for delivery of March 31, 2021, violated both the Census Act and the Administrative Procedures Act. The plaintiffs sought a judicial declaration that the use of the differential privacy system to adjust census data violated federal law and the U.S. Constitution and a preliminary and permanent injunction barring its implementation. Additionally, they sought a declaration that the Census Bureau’s decision to delay the release of census data beyond the statutory deadline violated federal law and a writ of mandamus ordering the Bureau to release redistricting data to the states by March 31, 2021.

On March 26, 2021 the district court granted the plaintiffs' request for the appointment of a three-judge court to adjudicate the case. Oral argument on the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction was held on May 3, 2021 in Montgomery, Alabama. On June 29, 2021 the district court denied the plaintiffs' requests for a preliminary injunction and a writ of mandamus and dismissed several of their claims on the grounds of standing or ripeness.

On September 9, 2021 the plaintiffs filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss the case, which the district court granted the same day.

Case Library

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, Eastern Division - 3:21-cv-00211

• Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief - 3/10/21
• Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Support of their Request for the Appointment of a Three-Judge Court - 3/10/21
• Plaintiffs' Motion for a Preliminary Injunction, Petition for a Writ of Mandamus, and Memorandum in Support - 3/11/21
• Defendants' Opposition to Plaintiffs' Request for the Appointment of a Three-Judge Court - 3/23/21
• Plaintiffs' Reply in Support of their Request for the Appointment of a Three-Judge Court - 3/25/21
• Memorandum Opinion and Order - 3/26/21
• Order - 3/29/21
• Brief of Amicus Curiae Professor Jane Bambauer in Support of Plaintiffs' Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief - 4/9/21
• Brief of Amici Curiae State of Utah and 15 Other States in Support of Plaintiffs - 4/13/21
• Defendants' Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Petition for Writ of Mandamus - 4/13/21
• Declaration of John M. Abowd - 4/13/21
• Declaration of Michael Thieme - 4/13/21
• Declaration of James Whitehorne - 4/13/21
• Brief of Amicus Curiae the National Redistricting Foundation in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction - 4/13/21
• Amicus Curiae Brief in Support of Plaintiffs from (1) Senate of Pennsylvania Republican Caucus, (2) Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, and (3) Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward - 4/13/21
• Order - 4/13/21
• Defendants' Responses to Plaintiffs' First Request for Admissions - 4/13/21
• Brief of Amicus Curiae the National Redistricting Foundation in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction - 4/13/21
• Memorandum in Support of the State Government Leadership Foundation, Louisiana Senate Majority Leader Sharon Hewitt, Minnesota House of Representatives Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives Philip Gunn, Nevada Senator Ben Kieckhefer, Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, and Vermont House of Representatives Assistant Minority Leader Robert LaClair's Motion for Leave to File Amicus Curiae Brief in Support of Plaintiffs State of Alabama, Et Al. - 4/14/21
• Brief of Amici Curiae the State Government Leadership Foundation, Louisiana Senate Majority Leader Sharon Hewitt, Minnesota House of Representatives Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives Philip Gunn, Nevada Senator Ben Kieckhefer, Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, and Vermont House of Representatives Assistant Minority Leader Robert LaClair in Support of Plaintiffs State of Alabama, Et Al. - 4/15/21
• Margo Anderson's Motion for Leave to File Amicus Curiae Brief in Support of Plaintiffs - 4/16/21
• Order - 4/19/21
• Plaintiffs' Reply in Support of Combined Motion for a Preliminary Injunction and Petition for a Writ of Mandamus - 4/20/21
• Plaintiffs' Notice of Evidentiary Submission - 4/26/21
• Defendants' Notice of Supplemental Evidence - 4/26/21
• Brief of Amicus Curiae Electronic Privacy Information Center in Support of Defendants' Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Petition for Writ of Mandamus - 4/27/21
• Brief of Amicus Curiae Professor Margo Anderson in Support of Plaintiffs' Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief - 4/28/21
• Amicus Brief of Data Privacy Experts - 4/29/21
• Order - 5/5/21
• Joint Report - 5/6/21
• Plaintiffs' Opposed Motion to Introduce Supplemental Evidence in Support of Their Motion for Preliminary Injunction - 5/17/21
• Declaration of Thomas M. Bryan - 5/17/21
• Plaintiffs' Notice of Supplemental Authority - 5/18/21
• Order - 5/19/21
• Plaintiffs' Reply in Support of their Motion to Introduce Supplemental Evidence - 5/21/21
• Plaintiffs' Opposed Motion to Supplement Thomas Bryan's Supplemental Report - 6/1/21
• Order - 6/2/21
• Defendants' Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion to Supplement Thomas Bryan's Supplemental Report - 6/3/21
• Defendant's Notice - 6/9/21
• Order - 6/29/21
• Memorandum Opinion and Order - 6/29/21
• Concurring Opinion - 6/29/21
• Joint Motion for Stay - 7/2/21
• Order Granting Stay - 7/8/21
• Plaintiffs' Notice of Voluntary Dismissal - 9/9/21
• Order of Dismissal - 9/9/21