ST. LOUIS, December 14, 2009 -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri applauded a long-anticipated ruling issued December 11 by Judge Philip Heagney. The decision came in a case filed in 2007 by the ACLU of Eastern Missouri on behalf of John Chasnoff.
In April 2007 Chasnoff sought the investigative records from the Police Department’s internal affairs investigation into tickets confiscated by police from alleged scalpers at a 2006 World Series game. It was later determined that some of the confiscated tickets were used by family and friends of police officers. Eight officers were disciplined, but no details of the investigation were released.
Judge Heagney ruled in January 2009 that Chasnoff was entitled to a copy of the complaint that gave rise to the investigation. Today’s ruling turned on whether the complaint alleged a criminal violation. Under Missouri’s open records law, investigation documents are open to the public where a complaint alleges criminal activity. Both sides stipulated in January that the complaint did indeed make such an allegation.
In his ruling Judge Heagney states, “[I]f anyone should obey the law, the Metropolitan Police Department should. Nevertheless, the defenses that the Board has raised in this case and that the Board has repeated again and again without offering any concrete evidence to back up its assertions, lead the Court to believe that the Board of Police Commissioners simply wants [to] have itself and the Metropolitan Police Department be declared exempt from complying with any requirements of Missouri’s Sunshine Law.”
ACLU-EM’s Executive Director Brenda Jones—who is also a Board member of the Missouri Sunshine Coalition—remarked, “The Police Department’s denial of access to the records John sought is an unconstitutional abridgement of free expression. We are pleased that the court has come down clearly on the side of open information.”
The plaintiff in the case was John Chasnoff, who became the Program Direct for ACLU-EM in January. Upon hearing of the decision, Chasnoff commented, “I originally asked for this information in April 2007. Unfortunately, police were able to use the court system to delay release until now. I am pleased that Judge Heagney has reaffirmed Missouri Sunshine law and the importance of open information in a free society.”
