SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court has rejected the legislature's appeal to halt the new congressional map from being implemented.
A panel comprised of Chief Justice Matthew Durrant, Associate Chief Justice Jill Pohlman and Justice Paige Petersen declined to hear an appeal or a stay as other matters were still being litigated in a lower court.
"Here, no claim has been certified as final. Thus, certification under rule 54(b) is improper and we lack jurisdiction over Legislative Defendants’ appeal," they wrote.
"Accordingly, we grant Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Disposition and dismiss Legislative Defendants’ appeal. Also before us are Defendants’ Motion for Stay, which requests a stay of the district court’s injunction of the 2021 Congressional Map during the pendency of this appeal; and the Utah County Clerk’s Motion for Joinder in this appeal. Because we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, we dismiss both motions as moot."
The ruling is a blow for the legislature, which has repeatedly sought to block the map from going into effect.
"Neither the Utah Constitution nor the U.S. Constitution empowers courts to impose a map that elected representatives did not enact," Senate President J. Stuart Adams said in a statement to FOX 13 News late Friday. "Once again, the chaos continues, but we will keep defending a process that respects the Constitution and ensures Utah voters across our state have their voices respected."
But the original plaintiffs in the redistricting lawsuit were thrilled.
"Utah voters deserve fair representation and clarity heading into our elections," Katharine Biele, president of the League of Women Voters of Utah said in an email to FOX 13 News. "We are encouraged that the court dismissed this improper appeal and allowed the process to move forward without disruption to voters or election administrators. The League of Women Voters of Utah will continue in our fight for fair maps for Utahns."
The League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government sued the legislature over Prop. 4, accusing them of overriding the will of the people who passed the citizen ballot initiative for independent redistricting and instituting a map for congressional boundaries that constituted illegal gerrymandering to favor Republicans.
They have also provided FOX 13 with the following statement:
“MWEG celebrates this decision. The people voted against gerrymandering when they passed Prop 4. The courts have provided an important check on the Legislature, affirming the people’s constitutional right to alter and reform their government,” said Emma Petty Addams, co-executive director of Mormon Women for Ethical Government. “We remain committed to defending that right.”
A judge sided with them, ordered the legislature to draw a new map, then rejected it for not abiding by the tenets of Prop. 4 and chose a map submitted by the League and MWEG. The legislature had appealed to the Utah Supreme Court seeking a stay to halt the new map, which creates a Salt Lake County-centric district that is more competitive and Democrats have rushed to run in.
This is one prong in an effort to block the new congressional map from being implemented. A federal panel of judges could rule as soon as Monday in an injunction request by county commissioners, mayors, and congressional representatives Celeste Maloy and Burgess Owens seeking to block the new map and revert back to the 2021 map that split Salt Lake County into four parts.
Read the ruling here:
