News & Commentary

Kansas City, MO -- Today, the ACLU of Missouri filed suit against the City of Belton, Missouri, on behalf of Missouri resident Roger Walker, challenging a Belton ordinance that restricts panhandling. Panhandling is protected under the First Amendment.

The Missouri legislature has repeatedly enacted abortion regulations that have no medical benefit for patients—all under the guise of purporting to protect women’s health. Today’s Supreme Court decision means that courts will no longer play along with the legislature’s disingenuous game of pretending to help women by erecting unnecessary barriers to abortion care. It should mark the end of Missouri’s campaign to impose unnecessary and burdensome regulations on abortion providers for the purpose of making abortion care more difficult to obtain.

Dear ACLU Members, Partners, Board, and Staff:

St. Louis, MO -- Despite recent rulings that the Metropolitan Police Department of the City of St. Louis (SLMPD) must release certain investigative reports to the public, SLMPD has again withheld these open records and refused to give them to Curtis Farber. Because this refusal violates the Sunshine Law, the ACLU of Missouri today filed suit against SLMPD on behalf of Mr. Farber.

Jackson County has taken an important step in the right direction to stop the unconstitutional practice of shackling pregnant women while they are in labor. Nearly eight months after Megon Riedel filed her lawsuit against Jackson County and three correctional officers, the case has settled. Ms. Riedel had been shackled, chained and transported by van nearly 200 miles across state while she was in labor. Ms. Riedel sued Jackson County and three Jackson County Detention Center employees. She was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri.

Jeffrey Mittman, Executive Director of ACLU of Missouri, issued the following statement regarding the Missouri General Assembly passing government-issued photo ID legislation that could make it harder for up to 200,000 Missourians to vote:

Jeffrey Mittman, Executive Director of ACLU of Missouri, issued the following statement after anti-LGBT bill SJR 39 was defeated in the Missouri House Emerging Issues Committee:

For the second time in six months, the ACLU of Missouri filed suit on behalf of a woman that was shackled, chained and transported hundreds of miles while in active labor with a high-risk pregnancy. Today, Tara Rhodes sued Mississippi County and seven Mississippi County Detention Center (MCDC) correctional officers for the cruel and unusual punishment that ultimately caused the death of her baby.

Repeated Requests by Harper Family for Records Related to Unsolved Shooting Go Unanswered