The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri (ACLU of Missouri) filed a Sunshine Law suit July 16 against St. Louis County because the County will not release an FBI audit regarding the embezzlement of county funds by Edward Mueth.
The ACLU of Missouri made a Sunshine Law request for the report, along with other related documents on July 2. On July 7, the ACLU received a letter from St. Louis County Counselor Patricia Redington denying the FBI audit report. Media reports later stated that the County asked the U.S. Attorney for permission to comply with the Sunshine Law.
“St. Louis County knows that if there is a question about whether or not records are public under Missouri’s Sunshine Law, the correct procedure is to file a state court proceeding, not ask the U.S. attorney,” explains Tony Rothert, legal director for the ACLU of Missouri. “Failing to ask the Court for guidance is the County’s attempt to skirt the Sunshine Law.”
“It is unfortunate that it is necessary for the ACLU to ask the Court to take action against St. Louis County for violating the Sunshine Law again, but the need for transparency is too important to ignore,” said ACLU of Missouri Executive Director Jeffrey A. Mittman. “If it was important enough for the chief of police to request an outside audit by the federal government and for county officials to know the results of that audit, then the public also has a right to know.”
Update: Sept. 3, 2014
Today, Judge David Lee Vincent III issued his final judgment in this case.
"We brought this suit to promote transparency when St. Louis County claimed that the documents were not public records subject to the Sunshine Law," said Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Missouri. "The Court rightly rejected the County’s interpretation of Missouri law, found the records to be public and has ordered their production."
“We are pleased that the court agreed that the FBI audit is a public document and is subject to the Missouri's Sunshine Law," said Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the ACLU of Missouri. "While we are disappointed that the audit will contain redactions, this does not detract from the real victory that records will see the light of day and be subject to citizen scrutiny."
Update: Sept. 29, 2014
Late this afternoon, the ACLU of Missouri received two documents, which are posted below.