- The Utah Supreme Court rejected the Legislature's appeal to block a new map.
- The court ruled it lacked jurisdiction as no claim was certified as final.
- Democrats celebrated the decision as a victory for voters and fair elections.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah Supreme Court panel denied the Legislature's request to stay a district court ruling implementing a new congressional map.
Lawmakers in January appealed an August 2025 ruling that invalidated the congressional map they adopted in 2021, asking the high court to block a remedial map that created a Democratic-leaning district in Salt Lake County.
But a three-justice panel composed of Chief Justice Matthew Durrant, Justice Paige Petersen and Associate Chief Justice Jill Pohlman on Friday dismissed the Legislature's appeal, saying it did not have proper jurisdiction over the case.
The ruling came just days ahead of the Monday deadline to change the map that will be in place for the upcoming midterms. A federal lawsuit over the new congressional map is still pending.
The justices wrote that state code gave lawmakers 30 days to appeal the Aug. 25, 2025, ruling, but the Legislature instead asked the district court to stay its injunction blocking the 2021 map. That motion was denied.
Lawmakers did not appeal a subsequent November ruling by 3rd District Judge Dianna Gibson which adopted the remedial map that is now in place. The Legislature then asked the district court in December to certify the August ruling so that it could appeal the final order.
The district court granted the request in part but declined to certify the entire case because it said some claims in the ongoing case were still pending.
"Rule 54(b) does not allow for immediate review of an order where that order does not finally resolve plaintiffs' claim," the justices wrote. "And here, no claim has been certified as final. Thus, certification under rule 54(b) is improper and we lack jurisdiction over legislative defendants' appeal."
The justices said the August order raises "important legal issues that warrant timely appellate review," and said that if lawmakers appealed either recent ruling within 30 days, the high court would have had jurisdiction over the appeal.
Top Republicans in the Legislature have repeatedly criticized the rulings from both the Supreme Court and district court, and Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said the latest ruling would continue to create "chaos."
"Neither the Utah Constitution nor the U.S. Constitution empowers courts to impose a map that elected representatives did not enact," he said in a prepared statement. "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."
Katharine Biele, president of the League of Women Voters of Utah, which is one of the plaintiffs suing the Legislature over redistricting, said, "Utah voters deserve fair representation and clarity heading into our elections."
"We are encouraged that the court dismissed this improper appeal and allowed the process to move forward without disruption to voters or election administrators," she told KSL via email. "The League of Women Voters of Utah will continue in our fight for fair maps for Utahns. Enough is enough!"
The Utah Democratic Party celebrated the ruling, calling it "a resounding victory for voters and fair elections."
"Prop 4 was passed to end partisan gerrymandering and put power back in the hands of the people, and today the courts made it clear: Lawmakers cannot ignore the law to protect their own political interests," it said on social media.
The case has been ongoing for several years after a handful of plaintiffs alleged lawmakers violated Utahns' rights when they overturned the state's anti-gerrymandering law known as Proposition 4 and replaced it with a different law.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2024 that lawmakers overreached by replacing Proposition 4, which was narrowly approved by the voters. Gibson threw out their map last year and later adopted a remedial map for the 2026 midterm elections.
