The Freedom Center of Missouri’s Director of Litigation, Dave Roland, recently sat down for an interview with the Cowboy & Judge show on ABC30 in St. Louis. This wide-ranging conversation covers the organization’s perspective on individual liberty, its relationship to Dave’s religious background, and the challenges inherent in doing high-level public interest litigation.
In 2014, Missouri voters passed Amendment 5, which updated Article I, Section 23 of the Missouri Constitution, which protects “the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms, ammunition, and accessories typical to the normal function of such arms, in defense of his home, person, family and property[.]” The amendment was explicitly designed to give this right the most extensive protections possible, requiring courts to subject to “strict scrutiny” any restriction on citizens’ rights of self-defense, and obligating the…
On June 3, 2013, Ron Calzone was driving his farm truck to gather gravel for his daughter’s chicken coop when a Missouri State Highway Patrol officer pulled him over. Had Calzone been speeding? Did he change lanes improperly? No. The officer admitted that he had not observed any violation of the law. So why had he pulled Calzone over? Because he could. Missouri law authorizes highway patrol officers to stop and inspect almost any kind of vehicle on Missouri’s highways…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Dave Roland July 26, 2019 (573) 567-0307 Eighth Circuit: Farmers Surrender Fourth Amendment Rights When Driving Their Own Trucks Mexico, Missouri—Today a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a person surrenders their Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures simply by getting behind the wheel of any vehicle the state defines as a “commercial vehicle” – and that this applies to farmers who…
BLOOMING RIDICULOUS: Eighth Circuit Refuses to Address Constitutionality of City Ordinance Forcing Widow with Grass Allergy to Grow Turf Grass Mexico, Missouri—Today a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to address the question of whether a St. Louis suburb can force Janice Duffner to devote at least half of her yard to growing the very plant that makes her sick. The court also refused to address the question of whether the city could punish Mrs. Duffner…
A decade and a half ago a courageous woman, Susette Kelo, waged a desperate battle to save her neighborhood from a city’s effort to condemn the neighborhood’s homes and business and to hand those properties over to a private developer. Susette’s little pink house became the focal point of one of the most important property rights battles in American history. Now a new movie, Little Pink House, starring Catherine Keener and Jeanne Tripplehorn, dramatizes her story. Although the film has been…
14779 Audrain Rd. 815 Mexico, Missouri www.mofreedom.org (573) 567-0307 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Dave Roland March 29, 2018 (573) 567-0307 BLOOMING RIDICULOUS: Federal Judge Says City May Force Senior Citizens to Grow Plants That Make Them Sick, Twenty Years in Prison for Noncompliance Not “Excessive” Mexico, Missouri—Late yesterday afternoon U.S. District Judge John Ross ruled that even though the U.S. Constitution says that it protects citizens’ property rights, cities can force homeowners to devote…
The Freedom Center’s primary goal is to help shape our legal landscape by winning victories in the courtroom. But sometimes we can score victories without ever needing to file a lawsuit. We have a brand-new story to share about just such a victory. A few weeks ago Jerry Dollar, a resident of St. Louis County, let us know that the St. Louis County Police Department was refusing to return a handful of lawfully-obtained, lawfully-owned firearms that it had confiscated from…
P.O. Box 693 Mexico, Missouri www.mofreedom.org (314) 604-6621 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Dave Roland August 7, 2017 (314) 604-6621 Eighth Circuit Revives Missouri Rancher’s Challenge to Suspicionless Vehicle Stops Mexico, Missouri—The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals today revived a lawsuit in which Ron Calzone, a rancher and small businessman who lives in the country near Rolla, Missouri, is challenging a Missouri law that allows highway patrol officers to seize and search vehicles even if…
Recent publicity has resulted in a spike in the number of people trying to learn about the Freedom Center of Missouri and the work that we do. If you’re one of the folks just now hearing about our work, we’re glad you’re checking out our website. The “About Us” section will give a general overview of our mission, our staff, and our Board of Directors, but in this post we wanted to highlight several of the successes we’ve seen over…