Red state Supreme Court justice resigns amid redistricting sex scandal benefiting Dems

Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen has submitted her resignation to Gov. Spencer Cox (R) following allegations that she had an inappropriate relationship, which may have ultimately resulted in a redistricting map that benefited Democrats.

"Today, Gov. Cox received a letter of resignation from Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen," Cox's office said in a statement on Friday. "The resignation is effective immediately. The governor appreciates Justice Hagen's years of service to the state of Utah."

Information about filing the vacancy was expected "in the coming days."

In December, a complaint filed with Chief Justice Matthew Durrant alleged that Hagen had an affair with attorney David Reymann, who was representing the plaintiffs in a redistricting case. Although Hagen denied the adultery claims, she agreed to recuse herself from cases in which Reyman was involved.

Reyman's former client, the League of Women Voters, had argued that a congressional map proposed by Republicans was illegal under a 2018 state law that banned partisan gerrymandering.

After Hagen recused herself, the court sided with Democrats' demand that the legislature create a district in Salt Lake County that was expected to add a new Democratic seat.