Cole County Presiding Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce this week transferred a lawsuit challenging the state's new congressional district boundaries to Judge Dan Green, even as two lawmakers asked the court to dismiss the entire case.
State Sen. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville, and Rep. John Diehl, R-Town and Country, chaired the Senate and House committees that handled the various redistricting proposals lawmakers considered last spring.
In a 17-page motion filed Nov. 4 with the court, they noted: "There has probably never been a redistricting that has not been labeled as "partisan.'''
Opponents challenged the new boundaries in a Sept. 23 lawsuit.
Among their claims, the opponents argued the lawmakers "produced a map designed solely to serve partisan ends, which will operate to the detriment of all who desire fair and legitimate districts for Missouri congressional elections through the net decade."
As required by the state's Constitution, lawmakers on April 27 approved new congressional districts based on the 2010 U.S. Census, cutting the number of districts to eight as required by Missouri's slower population growth compared with other states.