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Tag: missouri constitution

Happy Birthday, Missouri Constitution!

Happy Birthday, Missouri Constitution!

On July 19, 1820, Missouri’s first Constitutional Convention signed and adopted the state’s first constitution. With the foundational document of statehood thus in place, Missouri elected its first state government and federal Congressional representatives in the fall of 1820, although Congress refused formally to recognize Missouri’s admission to the Union until August 10, 1821. In the intervening two centuries Missourians have drafted several other constitutions, actually adopting new ones in 1865, 1875, and 1945. Several years ago the Freedom Center’s…

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St. Louis Lawsuit Against Second Amendment Preservation Act is Totally Baseless

St. Louis Lawsuit Against Second Amendment Preservation Act is Totally Baseless

The Missouri state legislature recently passed (and Governor Parson quickly signed) HB 85, the Second Amendment Preservation Act, a bill designed to ensure that state and local law enforcement in Missouri are focused on enforcing gun laws passed by our own lawmakers in Jefferson City, not the folks in Washington, DC. Opponents of this bill have loudly and repeatedly claimed that SAPA is unconstitutional… but most have declined to offer any legal analysis that would actually support these claims. At…

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Extended Thoughts on the Police Officer’s Suit Against Black Lives Matter

Extended Thoughts on the Police Officer’s Suit Against Black Lives Matter

Last week a Baton Rouge police officer wounded in an ambush that killed three officers and wounded two others filed a lawsuit, Officer John Doe Smith v. Black Lives Matter, et al., claiming that Black Lives Matter, and several of its most prominent activists, should be held liable for the injuries he suffered.  Over the weekend a journalist asked Dave for comment on the lawsuit, which has resulted in his being quoted by PBS NewsHour (twice), the Washington Post, and the Atlantic.  By necessity,…

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U.S. Supreme Court Rules That First Amendment Prohibits State Constitutions From Requiring Religious Discrimination

U.S. Supreme Court Rules That First Amendment Prohibits State Constitutions From Requiring Religious Discrimination

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In a landmark 7-2 decision, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment forbids states to categorically exclude persons or organizations from government benefits simply because the persons or organizations happen to be religious.  The case involved Article I, Section 7 of the Missouri Constitution, which the state had interpreted to preclude a church in Columbia, Missouri, from being considered for a state-funded grant that would offset…

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Dave Discusses Most Important Religious Liberty Case in a Generation

Dave Discusses Most Important Religious Liberty Case in a Generation

In just a few weeks the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, the most important religious liberty case it has considered in nearly three decades – and a case that originated right here in Missouri.  The question before the Court is: “Does the First Amendment allow governments to discriminate against religious organizations for no reason other than that they are religious?” The way the Supreme Court answers this question will have…

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To Fix a Broken Standard

To Fix a Broken Standard

  Missouri is facing an unusual problem. On the one hand, the state supreme court has held that laws affecting fundamental rights must be reviewed under the “strict scrutiny” standard.  Ordinarily this would be excellent news, because strict scrutiny is supposed to represent the very highest level of judicial protection for constitutional rights. This standard requires the court applying it to (1) presume that a law restricting a constitutional right is unconstitutional, (2) requires the government to present a compelling…

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PRESS RELEASE: Missouri Supreme Court Defies Voters, Effectively Nullifies Amendment 5

PRESS RELEASE: Missouri Supreme Court Defies Voters, Effectively Nullifies Amendment 5

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  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:    February 9, 2016 CONTACT:  Dave Roland Missouri Supreme Court Defies Voters, Rules Amendment 5 “Worked No Substantial Change” in Missouri Constitution  Mexico, Missouri—By a 5-2 margin, a majority of the Missouri Supreme Court’s judges have effectively nullified a state constitutional amendment approved by more than sixty percent of voters in 2014.  Amendment 5, as the measure was known, made major textual changes to Article I, section 23 of the Missouri Constitution and was designed to establish the…

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VICTORY: Missouri Court of Appeals Rules Challenge to Turf Grass Mandate May Continue

VICTORY: Missouri Court of Appeals Rules Challenge to Turf Grass Mandate May Continue

On January 12, 2016, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, issued an opinion ruling that the St. Charles County Circuit Court should not have dismissed Carl and Janice Duffner’s challenge to the validity of a municipal ordinance that requires homeowners to devote half of their property to growing plants designated by the city. The City of St. Peters threatens homeowners with both extraordinary financial penalties and jail time unless they obey the City’s demand to grow “turf grass” on at…

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A Quick Primer on “Martial Law”

A Quick Primer on “Martial Law”

Whenever there is civil unrest or a natural disaster in some part of the United States, people on the internet invariably start to rumble that someone or another might declare “martial law.”  The thing is, the people expressing concerns about martial law rarely seem to understand the meaning of the term.  In order to help shed some light on the topic, we wanted to offer this brief primer on martial law – and an explanation as to why the Missouri…

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