Afternoon Briefs: Trump sued over census policy excluding immigrants; judge swears in 37 new US citizens
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Trump faces federal lawsuit over new policy of excluding immigrants from 2020 census
The city of Atlanta, several nonprofit organizations and naturalized citizens sued President Donald Trump on Thursday over his plan to exclude undocumented immigrants in the 2020 census reporting used to calculate states’ seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that Trump’s new policy is racially and politically motivated, as census population counts have been conducted regardless of immigration status for hundreds of years. The policy, announced Tuesday, “is the culmination of a yearslong effort to transfer political power en masse from voters of color—chiefly, but not exclusively, Latino voters—to ‘Republicans and non-Hispanic whites,’” the complaint says. (NPR, Courthouse News Service, July 23 complaint)
Idaho judge swears in 37 new U.S. citizens outside courthouse
In an unusual move Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale convened court outside the James A. McClure Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, to safely swear in 37 new U.S. citizens. Clerk Steve Kenyon saw a historic photo showing a court proceeding in a park in San Francisco during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and thought the same option could be offered to people who’d already spent years waiting on their citizenship (The Idaho Press)
Seattle media must turn over footage from Black Lives Matter protest, judge says
King County Superior Court Judge Nelson Lee ordered Seattle media outlets Thursday to turn over all videos and photos taken in a 90-minute period during a downtown Black Lives Matter protest after the killing of George Floyd. In granting the unprecedented subpoena by the Seattle Police Department, Lee said it did not violate Washington state’s reporter shield statute and is necessary for an investigation into suspects who set fire to and stole weapons from police cars. Eric Stahl, an attorney for the media outlets, said the Seattle Times and television stations KIRO, KING, KOMO and KCPQ will decide whether to appeal by July 30. (Courthouse News Service)
Clint Eastwood accuses CBD companies of false endorsements in federal suits
Academy Award-winning actor, producer and director Clint Eastwood filed two lawsuits in federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday, alleging that several CBD manufacturers and marketers are falsely claiming that he endorses their products, and that online retailers are manipulating search results to support those false endorsements. He is seeking millions in damages and a jury trial over his right of publicity and trademark infringement, according to filings in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. (The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Hollywood Reporter, Time, July 22 complaints here and here)
