Free Republic

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen resigned from her position on the state's highest court after allegations resurfaced of a possible conflict of interest tied to Utah's redistricting case. Gov. Spencer Cox expressed his appreciation for Hagen's years of service in a statement confirming her resignation. He added that information regarding the process to fill the vacancy left by Hagen would be announced in the coming days. Hagen's resignation comes nearly a month after allegations surfaced about a possible connection between her and David Reymann, the former lead attorney for the League of Women Voters,...

A three-judge panel on Thursday ruled that Michigan must use new congressional and legislative maps in 2020, potentially setting up a more favorable battlefield for House Democrats, who flipped two seats in the state last fall. The federal court invalidated portions of the existing maps, drawn by the GOP-controlled legislature in 2011, pointing to an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander that violates the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of voters. The League of Women Voters and some Democrats had challenged the state’s 162 legislative and congressional districts, but the final suit only targeted 34 of those districts. Michigan has 14 congressional districts....

A panel of three federal judges in Michigan ruled Thursday that the state’s legislature unfairly drew up state and congressional districts and must come up with new boundaries. The lawsuit was filed by the League of Women Voters of Michigan and alleged that Republicans in the state legislature had purposely drawn up districts that disadvantage Democratic candidates. The three judges said in their ruling that 27 of the 34 challenged districts violated the plaintiffs’ First and 14th Amendment rights “by diluting the weight of their votes.” The judges also found every one of the districts challenged violated the plaintiffs’ First...