Court's 'borderline lawless' election order exposes myriad midterm 'warning signs': expert

A federal appeals court just sent out some of the clearest warning signs about the midterms, according to one legal expert.

On Monday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued what Chris Geidner, author of the "Law Dork" Substack, called a "borderline lawless" order on which map Missouri must use for the upcoming midterms. The order was handed down as midterm ballots are being printed for voters in the state, according to reports.

"Bottom line: The 2022 congressional map — not the HB1 2025 map passed by Republicans to benefit Republicans — remains the map in place for the general election in Missouri, and that is very unlikely to change," Geidner wrote in a new essay.

Missouri Republicans created a gerrymandered map in 2025 that eliminated Democratic representation in the state. Geidner noted that a previous court ruling found the 2025 map was never officially adopted by state law, which should have halted the proceedings in the first place.

That's part of what made Monday's ruling all the more concerning, Geidner argued.

"Despite that, there is a real concern to be raised about what the Eighth Circuit did here," he added. "If Justice Neil Gorsuch warned of “anarchy” when lower courts couldn’t divine the meaning of shadow docket decisions’ applicability to other cases last year, he should be prewriting a far more aggressive statement addressing the Eighth Circuit’s inability to follow the Supreme Court’s order in this case for when this matter inevitably returns to the justices in the coming days."

"Ultimately, this all should be tossed out — but there are warning signs at all levels of this winding path, starting with the Roberts Court, and ignoring those warning signs will lead to even greater problems if they are not addressed sooner rather than later," Geidner continued.

Geidner also pointed the finger at the Supreme Court for laying the groundwork for the mess in the first place.

"In a system where the U.S. Supreme Court and appellate courts show little affection for the stability of legal rules, it appears that some district judges get the idea that they needn’t do so either.