News & Commentary

ST. LOUIS – The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri (ACLU of Missouri) released the following statement in response to Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon vetoing HB 1307, which would have blocked care for a woman needing an abortion in Missouri for three days.

This week a judge in Missouri became the first to rule that a government entity that cites one reason for not producing Sunshine Law requested documents cannot come back and cite other exemptions when sued.

Police Officer Jerry Bledsoe sent a written apology to Second Amendment advocate Jordan Klaffer, and agreed to pay damages, court costs and attorneys’ fees. The Village of Kelso, where Bledsoe works, also assured Klaffer in writing that they will instruct police officers to not seek court orders to censor individuals who are critical of police officers’ actions. In response, on June 18, Klaffer and the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri asked the United States District Court to dismiss the First Amendment lawsuit filed in February on Klaffer’s behalf.Klaffer is a gun rights advocate who frequently fires hi

St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Robert Dierker released his decision late on June 11, 2014, ruling that the St. Louis City Police must release documents requested by John Chasnoff pertaining to internal affairs department investigations of the 2006 World Series ticket scalping scandal.

On Friday evening, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights sent precautionary measures to the federal government and the Missouri government, asking that the June 18 execution of John Winfield be halted pending an investigation by the Commission into the secrecy surrounding the source and quality of the lethal injection drugs to be used in Mr. Winfield's execution and the potential for extreme suffering in their administration. If Mr. Winfield's execution goes forward, it will most certainly violate international law against torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

Last August, Kyle Hamilton used his mobile phone to document an interaction between police officers and a distraught woman on Main Street in St. Charles. A mounted police officer grabbed Hamilton by his shirt collar as he was recording. Another officer threatened to arrest Hamilton, took his phone, viewed and deleted the recordings, and then ordered him to leave.

Back in October 2009, Frank L. Snider, III, was arrested by a Cape Girardeau police officer because he desecrated a flag on the sidewalk in front of his home to protest government acts. Snider was held in jail for eight hours on a charge of violating Missouri’s flag desecration statute. The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri has been representing Snider since 2010 in a volley of lawsuits and appeals.

ST. LOUIS – Today the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Chris McDaniel, a St. Louis Public Radio reporter, filed a lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Corrections for violating the Sunshine Law by withholding public information regarding the state’s recent executions. A copy of the lawsuit can be found on the ACLU of Missouri’s website.

Jefferson City, Mo. – In the face of a substantial overnight protest on the capitol steps, early this morning, the Missouri Senate passed a bill that forces a woman who has already met with her health care professional and decided to have an abortion to delay getting the medical care she needs for at least 3 days. Missouri law had already required women to delay their abortions for 24 hours. The bill now goes back to the House, which has already passed a similar bill.