The 2000 Census and the Law
Judicial and Congressional Action Surrounding Statistical Sampling
Sampling and statistical adjustment of the decennial population census taken for the purpose of apportioning the representatives in Congress among the States have become increasingly controversial during the past two decades and have culminated in a lawsuit concerning the legality and constitutionality of sampling, U.S. Department of Commerce, et al. v. U.S. House of Representatives. The Supreme Court took the case on a direct appeal from the decision by a three-judge panel of the District of Columbia District Court that the Census Act prohibits sampling in the apportionment census. Further controversy has resulted from the decision by the Department of…
