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VICTORY! Trial court holds that city violated First Amendment, Equal Protection Clause by banning activist from City Hall

VICTORY! Trial court holds that city violated First Amendment, Equal Protection Clause by banning activist from City Hall

On September 1, 2023, the Phelps County Circuit Court held a trial in Rebecca Varney v. City of Edgar Springs, a case in which small-town officials banned a resident from City Hall for four years simply because she had persistently criticized the way the local government was run. Yesterday – almost three years to the day after the Freedom Center of Missouri filed this lawsuit on Ms. Varney’s behalf – the court granted the plaintiff a sweeping victory. The judgment…

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VICTORY! Missouri Court of Appeals Rules (Again) That Cole County Prosecuting Attorney is Obligated to Search for and Produce Public Records

VICTORY! Missouri Court of Appeals Rules (Again) That Cole County Prosecuting Attorney is Obligated to Search for and Produce Public Records

More than eight years ago the Cole County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office refused even to search for certain public records that Aaron Malin had requested. In 2019 the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling that this refusal was a purposeful violation of the Sunshine Law and that the Office was required to search for and produce all records responsive to Malin’s request. But nearly four years later the Office acknowledged that it still had not searched 6,000-8,000 cases’…

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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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VICTORY! Court of Appeals Orders St. Louis Circuit Attorney to Produce Public Records

VICTORY! Court of Appeals Orders St. Louis Circuit Attorney to Produce Public Records

After two years of litigating against St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner on behalf of acclaimed journalist John Solomon, the Freedom Center notched an important victory for government transparency. Solomon had requested all records showing Gardner’s communications with a range of influential people, including George Soros and other prominent left-leaning donors, in the days before she filed criminal charges against former governor Eric Greitens. Gardner initially didn’t respond at all, then refused to produce any of the requested records. The…

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VICTORY: Eighth Circuit Rules First Amendment Protects Citizen Activists’ Speech

VICTORY: Eighth Circuit Rules First Amendment Protects Citizen Activists’ Speech

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 1, 2019 CONTACT:  Dave Roland, (314)604-6621 Eighth Circuit: First Amendment Protects Unpaid Activists Who Share Policy Ideas With Legislators Nearly three years ago the Missouri Ethics Commission ordered Ron Calzone, an unpaid grassroots activist, to pay a $1,000 fine and prohibited him from discussing policy with lawmakers until he registered and filed reports as though he was a professional “lobbyist.” Because the First Amendment guarantees the freedom to share one’s policy ideas with public officials, Calzone…

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VICTORY: St. Louis County Drug Task Force Admits Violating Sunshine Law

VICTORY: St. Louis County Drug Task Force Admits Violating Sunshine Law

14779 Audrain Rd. 815            Mexico, Missouri            www.mofreedom.org              (573) 567-0307 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                      CONTACT:  Dave Roland April 19, 2019                                                                                                   (573) 567-0307 VICTORY: St. Louis County Admits Drug Task Force Violated Sunshine Law, Bringing Strategic Litigation Campaign to Successful Conclusion Mexico, Missouri—Late Friday afternoon St. Louis County Circuit Judge Thea Sherry signed a Consent Judgment approved by the parties in Malin v. St. Louis County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force, et al. The Consent Judgment reflects the County’s…

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VICTORY: Circuit Judge Rules St. Louis City Officials Violated Sunshine Law

VICTORY: Circuit Judge Rules St. Louis City Officials Violated Sunshine Law

14779 Audrain Rd. 815            Mexico, Missouri            www.mofreedom.org              (573) 567-0307   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                     CONTACT:  Dave Roland July 19, 2018                                                                                                             (573) 567-0307   VICTORY: Circuit Judge Rules St. Louis City Officials Violated Sunshine Law   Mexico, Missouri—St. Louis City Circuit Judge Mark Neill ruled Wednesday afternoon in Malin v. Metro Multi-Jurisdictional Undercover Drug Program, et al., that St. Louis City officials committed multiple violations of Missouri’s open records laws when they failed to produce documents related to…

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VICTORY: Court Rules Sheriff May Not Withhold Documents, But Shortchanges Victorious Attorneys

VICTORY: Court Rules Sheriff May Not Withhold Documents, But Shortchanges Victorious Attorneys

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14779 Audrain Rd. 815            Mexico, Missouri            www.mofreedom.org              (573) 567-0307 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                     CONTACT:  Dave Roland April 18, 2018                                                                                                            (573) 567-0307   VICTORY: Circuit Judge Rules Sheriff May Not Withhold Documents Related to Law Enforcement Officer’s Death, But Shortchanges Victorious Attorneys   Mexico, Missouri—Early in 2007 a mid-Missouri narcotics officer named Melissa Winnie alleged misconduct on the part of several of her co-workers.  Less than a year later, she was dead. For more than a decade…

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VICTORY: Eighth Circuit Revives Fourth Amendment Challenge to Suspicionless Vehicle Stops

VICTORY: Eighth Circuit Revives Fourth Amendment Challenge to Suspicionless Vehicle Stops

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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…

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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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