MAYOR'S SUIT AGAINST CITIZENS DISMISSED
St. Louis, August 14, 2002 - St. Louis County Circuit Judge David Lee Vincent III has dismissed a libel lawsuit filed by Creve Coeur Mayor Annette Mandel against six Creve Coeur residents. The suit claimed that the residents engaged in libel and slander when they publicly criticized the mayor for her handling of appointments to a citizens advisory committee. Soon after the suit was filed, the ACLU of Eastern Missouri agreed to assist the defendants.
"We have maintained all along that this kind of suit runs afoul of the constitutional rights to petition one's government for redress and engage in unfettered political speech," said ACLU-EM Executive Director Matt LeMieux. "These citizens did nothing more than express their opinion about a political matter, and the First Amendment clearly protects the right of citizens to be critical of their elected officials."
In his order dismissing the case, Judge Vincent agreed. "The language (used by the defendants) only addresses the Mayor's official duties, and the Mayor is in no way accused of any criminal conduct . . . .," wrote Judge Vincent. "There is also no dispute about the fact that the letter written by Defendant O'Connor contains phrases such as "in the view of" and "it would appear" which are clearly statements of opinion."
ACLU-EM initially took interest in the suit because of its resemblance to a SLAPP suit (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation), a term used to describe lawsuits by public officials against citizens intended to quiet petitioning activity or dissenting views, LeMieux explained. In response to an increase in such suits nationwide, a number of states have enacted anti-SLAPP legislation, which provides a defense against such suits for citizens engaging in protected First Amendment activities. Missouri does not have such a statute.
In light of this and another case filed by the Mayor of Maryland Heights several years ago, LeMieux said that it was time for the state legislature to provide citizens with protection from these kinds of suits. LeMieux added that the ACLU of Eastern Missouri intends to have anti-SLAPP suit legislation introduced during next year's Missouri General Assembly session to make it harder for elected officials to use the threat of lawsuits to silence their critics and easier for citizens to defend against such lawsuits
For two of the defendants, Robert O'Connor and Jeanne Rhoades, the struggle to protect their First Amendment rights may continue, as the mayor can still appeal Judge Vincent's ruling. Claims against defendants Laura Bryant, a member of the Creve Coeur City Council, and citizens Keith Prokop, Terry Johnson and Vi Smith, have been dropped by Mandel.