Hill v. City of St. Louis (Sunshine Law)

The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri received a favorable judgment on June 27, 2012, in a lawsuit over the St. Louis Division of Corrections’ failure to respond to the ACLU’s request for information about grievance policies in the jails.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri received a favorable judgment on June 27, 2012, in a lawsuit over the St. Louis Division of Corrections’ failure to respond to the ACLU’s request for information about grievance policies in the jails.

“We had received complaints that inmates had no formal way, other than filing a lawsuit, to file complaints about their confinement,” says Tony Rothert, the ACLU-EM’s legal director. “We began asking for copies of the grievance policy back in September 2011 and when we got no response, filed our lawsuit in January.”

“We are pleased that the Division of Corrections is taking steps to address its document retention process,” says Brenda L. Jones, the ACLU-EM’s executive director. “The ACLU still has questions, but we’ll be working with the Division of Corrections to improve its procedures on grievances so that inmates can have a formal way to deal with issues related to their confinement without having to file a lawsuit.”

The city of St. Louis Division of Corrections is required to pay attorneys’ fees and costs to the ACLU-EM. See copies of the complaint and the judgment below.