© 2024 St. Louis Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Trial court rejects challenge to state House districts

A Cole County judge has rejected a legal challenge to new State House . The portion shown here is the St. Louis region.
(Missouri State Redistricting Office)
A Cole County judge has rejected a legal challenge to new State House . The portion shown here is the St. Louis region.

It's been a busy day in Missouri courts today.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court struck down an ethics law because the measure originally dealt with state procurement.

And now, a trial judge in Cole County has rejected a suit challenging the new districts for the 163 seats in the Missouri House.

A bipartisan group that included two former lawmakers argued the new state House map violates requirements that districts have similar-sized populations and be "compact and contiguous." They also argued that the special judicial panel that drew the final boundaries violated Missouri's open meetings law.

Cole County Circuit Judge rejected all the claims in Tuesday's ruling. She says the new districts are contiguous, and that the plaintiffs failed to prove that the populations were as equal as possible.