“Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. It includes judges nominated in both his first and second terms.
What’s at stake in this case?
A Republican member of Congress sued to force Missouri to use an electoral map referred to as “HB 1” that would diminish the influence of Black voters for the upcoming elections, despite a state supreme court decision to the contrary.
What happened in this case?
Republicans in Missouri have tried get the state to use an election map for the upcoming elections adopted by the Republican-controlled legislature in a bill called HB 1 in 2025. The case has been back and forth throughout the state and federal courts. A district court sided with Republicans and entered a temporary restraining order requiring the use of HB 1. The Supreme Court entered a stay of the TRO, which meant that a map drawn up in 2022 that is not as favorable to Republicans would be used in this year’s elections.
Republicans have not given up. They convinced three judges on the Eighth Circuit --- Trump judges Justin Smith (recently confirmed despite strong opposition) and David Stras plus George HW Bush judge James Loken – to put HB 1 back into play in a September decision in Onder v Missouri. Smith and Loken issued an unsigned opinion that affirmed the TRO and ordered the lower court to enter a permanent injunction requiring the use of the HR 1 electoral map. Stras wrote a separate opinion emphasizing his view that challengers did not have standing to appeal the TRO in the first place.
What’s wrong with the decision and what happens next?
The decision in which Trump judge Smith played such a crucial role, if allowed to stand, would effectively reverse the Supreme Court and require use of the Republican-favored HB 1 in the 2026 elections, even though the 2022 map has already been used in early voting. Many consider it unlikely that the ruling will take effect, since the Eighth Circuit ordered an administrative stay until Monday September 26 and the Supreme Court has already ordered that briefs be filed in the case by September 23.
Election law expert Steve Vladeck summarized the problems with the Eighth Circuit decision: it is “procedurally bonkers;” it is “substantively dangerous;” and it is a “serious instance of a lower court acting in direct tension with the Supreme Court’s directive.” The case presents yet another example of the harm done by Trump judges.