Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/20a62_n7ip.pdf
Page Number: 1

Cite as:  592 U. S. ____ (2020) 

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SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

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No. 20A62 
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WILBUR ROSS, SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, ET AL. v. 
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE, ET AL. 

ON APPLICATION FOR STAY 

[October 13, 2020] 

  The application for stay presented to JUSTICE KAGAN and 
by her referred to the Court is granted. The district court’s 
September  24,  2020  order  granting  a  preliminary  injunc-
tion  is  stayed  pending  disposition  of  the  appeal  in  the 
United  States  Court  of Appeals  for the  Ninth Circuit  and 
disposition of the petition for a writ of certiorari, if such writ 
is timely sought. Should the petition for a writ of certiorari 
be  denied,  this  stay  shall  terminate  automatically.  In  the 
event the petition for a writ of certiorari is granted, the stay 
shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of 
this Court. 
  JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, dissenting from grant of stay. 
  Today, the Court stays a preliminary injunction requir-
ing the Census Bureau to follow the data collection plan the 
agency once described as necessary to avoid “risking signif-
icant  impacts  on  data  quality.”    Electronic  Case  Filing  in 
No. 5:20–cv–5799, Doc. 198–7 (ND Cal., Sept. 22, 2020), p. 
131 (ECF).  The injunction required the Bureau to continue 
its data collection efforts until October 31, 2020, a deadline 
the Bureau itself selected in response to the significant op-
erational disruptions  caused  by  the  COVID–19  pandemic.  
The  Government  now  claims  that  this  Court’s  immediate 
intervention  is  necessary  because,  absent  a  stay,  the  Bu-
reau  will  not  be  able  to  meet  the  December  31  statutory 
deadline for reporting census results to the President.  This