Geoffrey Derrick Quoted in Law360 on Amicus Brief Filed in Census Citizenship Question Case

Akin Gump labor associate Geoffrey Derrick was quoted by Law360 in the article “NY Court Urged Not To Toss Census Citizenship Question Suit” regarding the firm’s role in a lawsuit challenging the inclusion in the 2020 census of a question asking whether individuals are U.S. citizens. Akin Gump, working pro bono on the matter, authored an amicus brief on behalf of the New York chapter of the Council On American-Islamic Relations, the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality and several Americans of Japanese origin who were incarcerated during World War II.

Derrick, who filed the brief along with litigation partner Robert Pees and corporate partner Alice Hsu, pointed out that when the federal government rounded up individuals of Japanese origin in the 1940s, it relied on census data as a guide for where to find them, based on information provided by those who filled out the 1940 census. With this case, Derrick said the brief filers sought to give the federal court an understanding of what had happened in the past when the federal government arguably misused information it gathered from the census.

“We wanted the court to... digest this history when it was thinking about the modern census in the 2020 decennial census,” Derrick said.

For more on Akin Gump’s role in this case, please click here.

Akin Gump previously represented the Korematsu Center and others in filing an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in the Muslim travel ban litigation. More information on that can be found by clicking here.