News & Commentary

Jefferson City, Mo. -- The ACLU of Missouri is pleased the Missouri Legislature passed a bill (SB 870) that outlaws shackling imprisoned, pregnant women in labor or anytime during their third trimester unless under extreme circumstances.

We know joy when we see it.

As the Missouri legislature ended its 2018 session, one of the last items on the docket was the state budget for next year.

In the past, we have introduced you to some of the clients who have been denied justice because of an overburdened public defender system. Today, we want to introduce you to a former Missouri public defender.

We know that we’re up against a lot of constitutional challenges in this country. Without our fierce ACLU membership across the country, and especially here in Missouri, we wouldn’t be able to fight half as hard on half as many fronts.That’s why it’s so important we take time to regroup, inspire, and mobilize – and that we don’t forget to celebrate all we’ve done together in the nearly 100 years of the ACLU.Join us in community.

*Statement Attributable to ACLU of Missouri Legislative and Policy Director Sara Baker

“Just as the police have the right to use surveillance technologies to monitor people in public, the people have a right to monitor the purchasing and use of surveillance technologies by the police,” said Mustafa Abdullah, lead organizer of ACLU of Missouri.After the press conference, community members joined Privacy Watch STL in speaking with members of the Board of Aldermen about the importance of protecting citizens’ right to privacy and improving government transparency at a lobby day, followed by a rally outside of City Hall. In addition to the Privacy Watch coalition, others endorsing the Surveillance Accountability bill include: American Friends Service Committee, St. Louis; Anti-Racist Collective (ARC); Center for American-Islamic Relations-Missouri; Drone Free St. Louis; Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF); Missouri Immigrant and Refugee Advocates (MIRA); PLEA for Justice; GrassRoots Accountability Movement (GRAM) and Saint Louis Democratic Socialist of America (STL DSA) and State Rep. Bruce Franks, D – St. Louis. The following organizations are part of Privacy Watch STL: Amnesty International-St. Louis; Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression; Fight for the Future; Metro St. Louis Coalition for Inclusion and Equity; Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE); MoKaBe’s Coffeehouse; National Lawyers Guild, St. Louis; Organization for Black Struggle; Empower Missouri - St. Louis Chapter and ACLU of Missouri. About Privacy Watch STL: Privacy Watch is a St. Louis, Missouri coalition with the mission of ending over-surveillance by government and government/corporate partnerships. We expose the methods, tools, and processes by which the people of St. Louis are being tracked without public discussion or approval. We work to end unwarranted targeting of our communities with surveillance tactics and technologies that threaten our civil rights and liberties. In all our work, we center communities

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – ACLU of Missouri has filed a lawsuit against the city of Kansas City and the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners for failing to provide legal recourse if a vehicle was unnecessarily towed or impounded.

Dear Senators Brown, Hegeman, Cunningham, Curls, Nasheed, and Representatives Fitzpatrick, Alferman, Rowland, Kendrick, and McGee,