Members will be interested in reading the latest 5-4 decision from the Court upholding the census bureau's right to use imputation to conduct the census (finding it is not sampling).  In a rather unusual line-up, the Chief was in the majority with Justice
s Stevens, Breyer, Ginsburg, and Souter. Gerry Hebert


BC-NC--Scotus-Census, 1st Ld-Writethru,540 
 Supreme Court approves census technique that cost Utah seat 
 Eds: Combines pvs, minor editing 
 By GINA HOLLAND= 
 Associated Press Writer= 

   WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Supreme Court affirmed a 40-year-old 
population estimating technique on Monday, turning back a challenge 
to census numbers that Utah claims robbed it of a House seat. 
   The court ended a tug-of-war between Utah and North Carolina, 
finding that the government did nothing wrong in filling in gaps in 
the last census. 
   The ruling is good for Democrats, who stand to benefit from the 
seat going to North Carolina instead of Utah. 
   The Supreme Court ruled that the technique used by the Census 
Bureau to gather population data was not unconstitutional. The 
method, known as ``imputation,'' allows headcounters who can't 
reach anyone at a home to use data from a neighbor's household. 
   The court ruled 5-4 that the technique was not sampling, which 
justices said in 1999 could not be used to apportion the 435 House 
seats. The Supreme Court did not rule then that sampling was 
unconstitutional for other purposes, such as distribution of 
federal dollars. 
   Again in this case, the court stopped short of saying that 
census counters are limited to a traditional nose count under the 
Constitution's requirement of an ``actual enumeration'' every 10 
years. 
   Census takers first mail a questionnaire to every known 
household, then make personal visits. Imputation is a last resort, 
after as many as six visits fail to find anyone, the Census Bureau 
says. 
   The technique applies to only a tiny fraction of the nation's 
105 million households. It added less than a half percent to the 
population of 286 million people. 
   The case had put justices in an awkward position, reopening the 
2000 census two years after the fact and drawing questions of 
whether the court had the power to intervene and force Congress and 
the president to change the congressional map. 
   Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the majority, said that when 
``all efforts have been made to reach every household,'' a 
technique like imputation is allowed. He noted that it involved a 
tiny percent of the population. 
   He was joined by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices 
John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 
   The Census Bureau has used imputation to divvy congressional 
seats since 1960. The bureau, backed by the Bush administration, 
maintains that the estimating method is a proven, commonsense tool 
that makes the census more accurate. 
   Census numbers are used to parcel out House seats, government 
money and more. 
   Utah came within 900 people of getting an additional House seat, 
which went to the fast-growing North Carolina. Utah was given three 
seats, and North Carolina 13 after the latest count. 
   Utah contended that part of the final 2000 data should be thrown 
out. 
   The court's decision halted Utah's second effort to get a fourth 
member of Congress. Last year, Utah lost a Supreme Court case that 
claimed the state should get credit for large numbers of Mormon 
missionaries not included in the census because they were working 
overseas. 
   The case is Utah v. Evans, 01-714. 
   AP-ES-06-20-02 1026EDT