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Tag: U.S. Constitution

Freedom Center Files Eighth Circuit Brief Defending Second Amendment Preservation Act

Freedom Center Files Eighth Circuit Brief Defending Second Amendment Preservation Act

The Freedom Center of Missouri has long been at the forefront of the battle to preserve citizens’ right to keep and bear arms. We helped draft the amendment voters adopted in 2014 to broaden the right of self-defense enshrined in Article I, section 23 of the Missouri Constitution. We helped draft the Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) that the state legislature passed and the governor signed in 2021 – this law prohibits state and local officials from assisting in the…

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Rebecca Varney Proves You CAN Successfully Fight (To Go To) City Hall

Rebecca Varney Proves You CAN Successfully Fight (To Go To) City Hall

On November 15, 2022, Phelps County Circuit Judge John Beger issued a judgment holding that the City of Edgar Springs, Missouri, had violated Rebecca Varney’s right to due process of law by banning her from City Hall for four years without first notifying her of its factual or legal basis for doing so and without giving her an opportunity to dispute such a basis at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner. Judge Beger also held that the City…

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After Four Years, Rebecca Varney Can Once Again Go to City Hall

After Four Years, Rebecca Varney Can Once Again Go to City Hall

In 2018 the City of Edgar Springs, Missouri, responded to Rebecca Varney’s diligent reviewing of public records and criticisms of the local government by banning her from entering City Hall. In November 2020 the Freedom Center of Missouri took on Rebecca’s cause, suing the City and arguing that its actions against her had violated multiple constitutional provisions as well as Missouri’s Sunshine Law. Several months ago the Freedom Center filed a motion for summary judgment, pointing out that several of…

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Freedom Center on the Cowboy & Judge Show

Freedom Center on the Cowboy & Judge Show

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.

Oral Argument Set for Good Samaritan Case

Oral Argument Set for Good Samaritan Case

At 9:00 a.m. on June 16, 2022, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in Redlich v. City of St. Louis, a case that challenges the City’s interference with a pastor’s efforts to share food with homeless people on the City’s streets. This appeal follows a federal magistrate judge’s opinion that affirmed the City’s requirement for Pastor Ray Redlich and his colleague, Chris Ohnimus, to comply with the same regulations that apply to restaurants and grocery stores…

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U.S. Supreme Court Will Consider Whether to Review Suspicionless Stops Case [[UPDATED]]

U.S. Supreme Court Will Consider Whether to Review Suspicionless Stops Case [[UPDATED]]

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…

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Eighth Circuit: Farmers Surrender Fourth Amendment Rights When Driving Their Own Trucks

Eighth Circuit: Farmers Surrender Fourth Amendment Rights When Driving Their Own Trucks

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…

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BLOOMING RIDICULOUS: Federal Judge Rules Property Rights Not “Fundamental,” Okays Twenty-Year Prison Sentences for Growing Harmless Flowers

BLOOMING RIDICULOUS: Federal Judge Rules Property Rights Not “Fundamental,” Okays Twenty-Year Prison Sentences for Growing Harmless Flowers

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…

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Public Officials, Social Media, Transparency, and the First Amendment

Public Officials, Social Media, Transparency, and the First Amendment

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The past few decades have seen the development of technologies that raise challenging new questions about citizens’ rights under open records laws, open meetings laws, and the First Amendment.  Several current situations in Missouri may require courts to answer some of these questions. One question has to do with public officials’ use of social media to interact with the public.  Ordinarily, if a public official is hosting an event in a public setting, they cannot selectively exclude citizens from attending. …

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Briefing Completed in Cutting Edge First Amendment Case

Briefing Completed in Cutting Edge First Amendment Case

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On December 21, 2017, the Freedom Center of Missouri and our co-counsel at the Institute for Free Speech filed our final brief on behalf of Ron Calzone in our Citizen Activist Speech case.  The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear oral arguments in this case early next year – we will post an announcement when the court sets the date for those arguments. Last month we shared a video in which Ron explains the importance of this case,…

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