News & Commentary

“The court rightfully rejected the portion of House Bill 1878 which imposed criminal penalties for political speech, voter registration, and civic engagement efforts by organizations like the League of Women Voters and the NAACP. Third-party voter registration activities blocked by the challenged legislation are critical, constitute core political speech, and are necessary to ensure that voters can get on the rolls and participate in elections. Legislation like HB 1878 was designed to block access for Missouri voters and halt the ability of civic engagement organizations to engage their fellow citizens."

“We respectfully disagree with the trial court’s ruling, which misapplied the law and overlooked overwhelming evidence that the state’s unprecedented mid-decade congressional map violates the Missouri Constitution’s compactness requirement."

In some instances, people are unconstitutionally held in a detention center while waiting to receive treatment for a longer period of time than the maximum sentence available for the crimes alleged. The court must intervene and order DMH to remedy this crisis.

“We are intervening in this case to defend a bedrock constitutional principle: everyone counts. Past attempts to rig the census at the expense of immigrants and communities of color have been struck down, and the court should do the same here.”

The decision not only allows the state to target transgender Missourians access to health care but also leaves everyone's health care options at the whims of politicians, should the care you depend on ever fall into the political arena.

“By attempting to enact the new maps despite receiving more than 305,000 signatures from Missouri voters demanding a referendum, the Secretary of State is denying a longstanding tradition, judicial precedent, and our constitutional rights. For more than a century, the courts have upheld Missourians’ constitutional right to referendum, and we ask the courts to do the same with House Bill 1.”

“ This amendment 3 not only imposes strict bans on health care for Missourians but allows the anti-abortion politicians to impose similar restrictions on abortion that prevented access to care.”

The current status quo leaves some people who experience mental illness or disabilities trapped in judicial limbo and languishing in jail while the state fails to provide the necessary care to allow the detained person to advance through the judicial system.

"The court saw Senate Bill 775 for what it is, an unconstitutional censorship law that used the threat of fines and imprisonment to eliminate the guidance of professional librarians and parents and instead gave control over what our students in both public and private schools read to politicians in Jefferson City."