Utah v. Evans: How Census 2000's "Sampling in Disguise" Fooled the Supreme Court into Allocating Utah's Seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to North Carolina

Abstract

This note analyzes the Supreme Court's decision in Utah v. Evans. Utah attempted to challenge the "hot-deck imputation" process used in Census 2000 by suing the government, specifically Donald L. Evans, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Complicating Utah's challenge was the fact that they were required to satisfy the constitutional requirements of justiciability, proving that they had standing to bring their challenge. Ultimately, the Supreme Court granted Utah standing but ruled against them, finding that the Census Bureau's "hot-deck imputation" process was allowable under both the federal Census Act and the Constitution. Part II of this article discusses the historical background of the census, the process through which the census is taken, standing requirements particular to census cases, the Federal Census Act, and the "actual enumeration" clause of the Constitution. Part III recounts the factual development of the litigation in Utah v. Evans. Part IV analyzes the majority and dissenting opinions. Part V explores the probable impact of this decision and Part VI concludes with a brief summary.