Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins filed a motion Wednesday asking a federal judge to prevent the Missouri Supreme Court from holding a contempt hearing related to the state's congressional district map. The dispute concerns which map will be used for the November election and has now returned to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh for review. The underlying case involves challenges to the map drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature. Hoskins' filing seeks to halt state court proceedings while federal review continues. No ruling on the motion has been issued.
Missouri's highest court has no business dragging state officials into contempt proceedings over a congressional map that belongs to the legislature under the state constitution. Federal courts, not state judges, hold the proper authority to resolve disputes touching on Article I elections, and Kavanaugh's involvement underscores the need to keep those lines clear. This fight matters because it tests whether state judiciaries can seize control of redistricting through backdoor enforcement actions. The Constitution assigns primary power over congressional districts to state legislatures, with Congress holding supervisory authority; federalism demands that state courts stay within their lane rather than rewrite political boundaries. Allowing contempt hearings to override that structure invites endless litigation and erodes the separation of powers the Framers designed. The Supreme Court should shut this down before other state courts get the same idea.