News & Commentary

The following joint statement was issued by the ACLU of Nebraska, the ACLU of Missouri, and the national ACLU regarding the 8th Circuit Court of appeals decision to delay the hearing on cases involving challenges to the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage until after a U.S. Supreme Court decision on the same issue, which is expected by the end of June. The ACLU is counsel in the Missouri and Nebraska cases, which, along with cases from North Dakota and Arkansas, were scheduled for oral arguments on May 12.

Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri released the iPhone version of a smart phone app called the ACLU of Missouri Mobile Justice app — an empowerment tool for those who feel their civil rights are being violated by law enforcement officers.

Years before Ferguson erupted in the summer of 2014, the St. Louis NAACP had been receiving reports of corruption and abusive policing in St. Louis County municipalities and reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union for help. Today, the ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit against Pine Lawn on behalf of Adrian Wright, who was falsely arrested.

ST. LOUIS – Today, the Missouri Court of Appeals agreed that the public has a right to review records related to the 2006 World Series ticket-scalping scandal. The court upheld the trial court’s ruling that police officers could not invoke a right to privacy as a means to conceal documents which pertain to misconduct while performing their official duties.

ST. LOUIS – Today, United States Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Publisher Larry Flynt has the right to intervene in a case challenging Missouri’s execution protocol. Flynt seeks to challenge the sealing of judicial records.

by Jeffrey A. Mittman, ACLU of Missouri Executive Director

ST. LOUIS – A Missouri Revised Statute outlaws the American tradition of anonymous political speech. Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed a First Amendment challenge to the statute on behalf of a Ferguson resident.

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – In the wake of the release of the Department of Justice’s scathing report on its investigation of the Ferguson Police Department, racial justice advocates converged in Jefferson City today to support the Fair and Impartial Policing Act, SB 559. The primary sponsor of SB 559 is Missouri Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal, and co-sponsors include Senators S. Kiki Curls (D-9) and Jamilah Nasheed (D-5).

ST. LOUIS – Back in August 2012, the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri challenged the newly enacted Missouri’s House of Worship Protection Act on behalf of members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and Call to Action because the Act would infringe on their First Amendment Rights. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit agreed in its opinion, which was released today.