Judge Jesse Furman of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday denied the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) notice of motion to withdraw as counsel on a case concerning the census citizenship question.

The court analyzed two factors in determining whether to grant the motion: the reasons given for withdrawal and how the withdrawal would impact the timing of the proceedings. The court held that the DOJ had failed to provide adequate responses to both considerations: “Measured against those standards, Defendants’ motion is patently deficient. Defendants provide no reasons, let alone ‘satisfactory reasons,’ for the substitution of counsel.” The court further reasoned that withdrawal would affect the timing of the case as the DOJ must soon respond to multiple motions made by the plaintiffs.

This case continues as the DOJ asserts it will explore other avenues to include the citizenship question on the 2020 Census after the US Supreme Court held, in a different case, that the Secretary of Commerce had not provided adequate reasons for including the question.