JSM Activity #292

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Activity ID:  292
Title
Statistical Terminology, Census 2000, and the Supreme Court: Lessons Learned from Utah v. Evans - Late-Breaking Session
Date / Time / Room Sponsor Type
08/14/2002
10:30 AM - 12:20 PM
Room: H-West Ballroom 		ASA, ENAR, IMS, SSC, WNAR Other
Organizer: Lara J. Wolfson, Brigham Young University
Chair: Stephen E. Fienberg, Carnegie Mellon University
Discussant:  
Floor Discussion 12:15 AM
Description

In March 2002, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in Utah v. Evans (01-714), a case challenging the use of imputation in Census 2000 and the apportionment of a congressional seat between Utah and North Carolina. The case rests on two issues: whether or not the inclusion of persons in the 2000 census through the nearest-neighbor hot-deck imputation algorithm is an application of the "statistical method known as sampling"; and if the imputation method is consistent with the constitutional requirement for an "actual enumeration". The controversy in the case stems largely from varying interpretations of the meaning of statistical terms. In this panel discussion, four of the statisticians who provided expert testimony in the case will discuss their opinions on the merits of the case, the implications of the case for the future conduct of the US Census, and the implications this case may have on other legal statutes that use statistical terminology.
  302060  By:  Howard Hogan ,  Joseph Waksberg ,  Donald Rubin ,  Lara Wolfson 10:35 AM 08/14/2002
Statistical Terminology, Census 2000, and the Supreme Court: Lessons Learned from Utah v. Evans

JSM 2002

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Revised March 2002