Thread: You can get a $5000 fine for not answering the Census!

http://bhs.econ.census.gov/ec07/SUR1_1.html

Authorized penalties. The United States Code, Title 13, Chapter 7, coupled with the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, Title 18, Section 3571, authorizes a fine of not more than $5000 for refusing to answer the census, and not more than $10,000 for willfully providing false information.


http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscod ... -000-.html

TITLE 13 > CHAPTER 7 > SUBCHAPTER II > § 221

§ 221. Refusal or neglect to answer questions; false answers
How Current is This?

(a) Whoever, being over eighteen years of age, refuses or willfully neglects, when requested by the Secretary, or by any other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof acting under the instructions of the Secretary or authorized officer, to answer, to the best of his knowledge, any of the questions on any schedule submitted to him in connection with any census or survey provided for by subchapters I, II, IV, and V of chapter 5 of this title, applying to himself or to the family to which he belongs or is related, or to the farm or farms of which he or his family is the occupant, shall be fined not more than $100.

(b) Whoever, when answering questions described in subsection (a) of this section, and under the conditions or circumstances described in such subsection, willfully gives any answer that is false, shall be fined not more than $500.


?

I'm not a lawyer, but does it looks like the fines went up in 1984 before the 2010 Census?

Disconnected government decisions like this make me wonder if Bush is back in the White House...

The census questions have gone well above and beyond what is constitutional. The only problem is, nobody has standing to fight against unconstitutional acts of our government.

It is so true. A Census should be a simple little head count for the purpose intended, to count citizens for representation in the US Congress, period.

Originally Posted by Judy

It is so true. A Census should be a simple little head count for the purpose intended, to count citizens for representation in the US Congress, period.

i will answer how many people live here. who they are, and thats it

Does this apply to the illegal aliens with numerous adults living in the same residence or does it just apply to citizens of this country? Why do they need my phone number and age? Will they get the same information about everyone residing in the US? They have no idea how many are here to start with, who they are or where they are. How can they possibly check this information to see if its correct? I think its a big joke and very unreliable. This is truer today than before.

Excerpt:

[quote]1880 Census By Staff Writer 14 May 2000 Email Print The 1880 census was begun on 1 June 1880. The enumeration was to be completed within thirty days, or two weeks for communities with populations of 10,000 or more.

[b]Questions Asked in the 1880 Census
For each person in every household, the census asked name; whether white, black, mulatto, Indian, or Chinese; sex; age; month of birth if born within the year; relationship to the head of the household; whether single, married, widowed, or divorced; whether married within the year; occupation and months unemployed; name of state, territory, or country of birth; parents’ birthplaces; school attendance within the year; whether unable to read if age ten or older; and whether sick or temporarily disabled on the day of enumeration and the reason therefore. Those who were blind, deaf-mute, “idiotic,â€

Originally Posted by millere

http://bhs.econ.census.gov/ec07/SUR1_1.html

Authorized penalties. The United States Code, Title 13, Chapter 7, coupled with the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, Title 18, Section 3571, authorizes a fine of not more than $5000 for refusing to answer the census, and not more than $10,000 for willfully providing false information.

Apples and oranges. This is for the Economic Census conducted in years ending in "2" or "7", not the household census conducted in years ending in "0".

The Economic Census collects and produces our Nation's most comprehensive and useful business statistics. It collects information about virtually every U.S. business and summarizes data for each industry and geographic area to publish a complete and accurate portrait of the American economy. The Census Bureau conducts an Economic Census every 5 years.

[b]Questions Asked in the 1880 Census
For each person in every household, the census asked name; whether white, black, mulatto, Indian, or Chinese; sex; age; month of birth if born within the year; relationship to the head of the household; whether single, married, widowed, or divorced; whether married within the year; occupation and months unemployed; name of state, territory, or country of birth; parents’ birthplaces; school attendance within the year; whether unable to read if age ten or older; and whether sick or temporarily disabled on the day of enumeration and the reason therefore. Those who were blind, deaf-mute, “idiotic,â€

so we HAVE to answer the whole thing or we get a $5,000 fine?
i only wanted to answer how many people are in my household. why do they need to know anything more than that?

Spread the word around!


Judge puts brakes on Census Bureau

By Sarah Foster
© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com

A federal judge ruled yesterday that the Census Bureau has no automatic right to ask questions felt to be personal or intrusive and that it cannot threaten or prosecute citizens who refuse to answer such questions.

U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon granted attorney Mark Brewer, of the Houston-based firm of Brewer and Pritchard, a temporary restraining order in a Census suit filed by five Houston, Texas, residents. Attorneys for the government conceded that none of the five plaintiffs will be subject to actual or threatened prosecution during this litigation which is expected to go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The ruling is especially far-reaching.

"For the moment, this will prevent prosecution against any American who chooses not to answer questions other than the number of people living at their address -- that's all that's required by the Constitution," Brewer told WorldNetDaily. "It's a huge victory for the Constitution and for privacy-loving Americans, because we now have a ruling in a federal court case.

"The Census Bureau cannot extract this information under threat of criminal prosecution -- that was the issue I presented to the court," he said.

The penalty for not answering each question asked on the forms is $100. False answers can cost up to $500 in fines.

The five -- Edgar Morales, Laique Rehman, Nouhad Bassila, George Breckenridge and William Jeffrey Van Fleet -- are American citizens.

Brewer said his clients are not part of any organized group, "though that is what people have assumed. They are just ordinary people who want to be counted, but who do not want to give up their privacy to do so. That's the bottom line."

"What the court did today," Brewer explained, "was to order that the Bureau could neither threaten nor actually prosecute these people for not answering any question other than how many folks live at that address. It's the first time to my knowledge that this has happened in the 213 years since we've had a Constitution."

As he put it, "We hit a home run."

Recalling his day in court, Brewer said he told the judge she was "the only barrier standing between government on the one hand and these five -- I think very brave -- people and the American people generally on the other. I pointed out that the government lawyer had just told her that he can ask anything he darn near pleases -- where does it stop?"

Almost as important as the ruling itself is that the government conceded that the plaintiffs have "standing," meaning they had a right to bring an action against the Census Bureau in the first place.

"This removed what was potentially the biggest impediment to the case moving forward," said Brewer. "We're now looking forward to phase two, which is when the case will be submitted on summary judgement in two weeks."

"This is what they call a three-judge court case," he explained. "It's federal, but it's a very unusual procedure. There are only a few instances where it's permitted by federal law, this being the primary one: pertaining to census and apportionment. The case is filed like any other case in federal court, then it is referred by the chief judge of the circuit."

In this case, that's the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, headed by Judge Carol King.

Said Brewer, "The way it works is that when a motion of temporary restraining order is filed, which we did on March 23, the single judge that gets the initial assignment of the case can hear it. That's really about the only thing the judge can hear and rule upon. Then the three-judge court is convened and the case is submitted on trial -- and here it's for a summary judgment because there's no dispute of the facts.

"Both sides have the right of appeal," Brewer continued, "and we're assuming they (the Census Bureau) will appeal it. And if we lose -- we'll appeal it. Either way, it's on its way to the Supreme Court."

Brewer is handling the case pro bono -- that is, without charge, but and for the public good.

"One of the things I stressed to the judge," said Brewer, [is that] neither the plaintiffs nor I want to interrupt the census. To the contrary. I want to ensure its constitutional integrity and validity. But when you look at the lowered response rate, which by the Census Bureau's own admission is going to occur with the use of the long form, then you can only conclude that they are intentionally erecting a roadblock to getting an accurate count. They are intentionally sacrificing an accurate count in order to obtain information through statistics that they're not even entitled to obtain.

"Unfortunately, we know the government is capable of misusing census data," he said. "The federal government was only able to find, round up and imprison Americans of Japanese ancestry in 1942 by the illegal use of Census Bureau data."

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=18035
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