WASHINGTON — Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, is hinting at legal remedies against Utah’s 3rd District Judge Dianna Gibson after she approved a map altering the state’s congressional boundaries that established a heavily Democratic-leaning seat in Salt Lake City.
In an open letter to Gibson on Thursday, Owens accused the judge of overstepping her judicial authority when she rejected the state Legislature’s map in favor of one provided by nonprofit groups who sued the state over the current congressional districts. Owens lamented that the judge had abandoned the values he believes should be upheld by judges, and suggested that action is being considered to challenge her authority.
“Lawmakers, elected by the people, debate openly, stand for reelection, face scrutiny, and defend their choices. That accountability is what gives legitimacy to the lines that shape our voice in Washington. It is why Utah has thrived,” Owens wrote. “You disrupted that system. You did so not with one ruling, but with a sequence of decisions delivered at moments that consistently weakened the Legislature’s ability to act.”
Owens accused Gibson of issuing her rulings late at night just before her self-imposed midnight deadlines, arguing those were done as a way to ensure a “predetermined destination.”
“You set deadlines that were all but impossible. And when the Legislature complied under the pressure you created, you waited until the last possible moment to reject their work and replace it with a map advanced by advocacy groups who never had to answer to a single Utah voter,” Owens wrote. “Your rulings did not correct the system. They commandeered it.”
The letter comes as state Republicans have criticized Gibson’s ruling, and have even gone so far as to call for her impeachment. Although Owens stopped short of calling for her removal, the Utah congressman hinted at some sort of recourse.
“In a constitutional system, there are remedies for moments when a judge abandons prudence and steps beyond her role,” Owens wrote. “They remain available. They are being considered.”
Other members of the Utah House delegation expressed similar frustrations, calling it “highly inappropriate” and possibly unconstitutional for Gibson to instate a map without public or legislative approval.
“The judge waited till the last minute on almost every ruling that she did, she waited till the last minute, giving no recourse or option if she wanted to say, ‘Hey, I’m not gonna accept Option C,’” Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, told the Deseret News, referring to the map advanced by the state Legislature that was rejected by Gibson. “I think that’s wrong.”
Although top election officials expected an emergency appeal to reverse Gibson’s decision, Lt. Gov. Diedre Henderson said the state would begin implementing the map to ensure boundaries are set before candidate filings open in January. A number of Democrats have already announced their candidacies, including former Rep. Ben McAdams, and others are expected to follow suit.