Utah Supreme Court Tosses Prop 4 Appeal; 2021 Map Blocked

Late Friday, the Utah Supreme Court tossed the Utah Legislature’s appeal in the high‑profile Proposition 4 redistricting fight, leaving in place a lower‑court order that nuked the 2021 congressional map and the Legislature’s repeal of Prop. 4, the ballot initiative that created an independent redistricting commission.

The justices did not rule on the merits of the case. Instead, they said they lacked jurisdiction to hear an appeal because there’s no final judgment in the case yet.

In August, Third District Judge Dianna Gibson ruled lawmakers unconstitutionally repealed Prop. 4. She also struck down the 2021 congressional map because it was drawn using the legislature’s replacement for Prop. 4.

In December, legislative lawyers argued they couldn’t appeal Gibson’s August decision or her November order implementing a congressional map that created a Democratic-leaning Salt Lake County district until she entered a final judgment. So they tried a shortcut.

Rule 54(b) lets a judge certify one fully decided claim for an immediate appeal while the rest of the case continues.

Gibson reluctantly stamped parts of her August order as “final” to tee up a quick appeal. It was an unusual move, and, as it turns out, not good enough.

On Friday, the Supreme Court said lawmakers couldn’t use 54(b) to jump the line because the underlying claim wasn’t fully resolved.

“As a general rule, an appellate court does not have jurisdiction to consider an appeal unless the appeal is taken from a final order or judgment that ends the controversy between the litigants,” the Court wrote. Because the district court declined to certify Count V in the complaint as final.

Count V is the claim that SB200, the law that repealed Prop. 4 and altered the independent redistricting commission, violated the Utah Constitution. It’s at the center of the entire case. Lawmakers had argued the case was effectively over because Gibson had already granted the relief sought by the plaintiffs. She refused, leaving more than 20 claims unresolved in the case.

Because the court did not certify Count V as final, “no claim has been certified as final under Rule 54(b),” the justices wrote, so the appeal was not proper.

The justices also noted the Legislature blew two earlier opportunities: they could have appealed the August 25 order striking the 2021 map and the November 10 order adopting the plaintiffs’ remedial map. Twice, they let the 30‑day clock run out.

With the appeal dismissed, the Supreme Court denied the Legislature’s bid to stay the district court’s permanent injunction of the 2021 map as moot. It also rejected Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson’s last‑minute attempt to jump in.