Judge Finds Missouri Public Defender Waiting List Unconstitutional
The judge stayed the case to give Missouri lawmakers time to approve more funding in hopes of eliminating the waiting list.
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Missouri
Florida Wine Retailer Loses Challenge to Missouri Liquor Licensing Rules
The Eighth Circuit on Tuesday rejected a Florida wine distributor’s challenge to Missouri’s liquor license residency laws, affirming a federal judge’s dismissal based on Supreme Court precedent.
Read moreGuns on Campus
A University of Missouri system rule that prohibits employees from keeping firearms in their vehicles on campus conflicts with a state law that allows state employees to have a gun in their car as long as it is locked and the weapon is not visible, an appeals court in the state ruled.
Read moreBlocked on Twitter
The Eighth Circuit ruled that Missouri state Representative Cheri Toalson Reisch did not violate a constituent’s rights when she blocked on him Twitter, because she used the account “overwhelmingly for campaign purposes,” and the First Amendment prohibits “only governmental abridgment of speech.”
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Anti-Vaxxers Challenge Missouri’s Religious Exemption Process in the Eighth Circuit
A group of Missouri parents told an Eighth Circuit panel on Tuesday that the state requires them to go through a forced indoctrination session to religiously opt out of vaccines required for their children to attend school.
Read morePorta Potties
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled against Charles Gott, the owner of a company called Gott’s To Go, finding that portable toilet rental is taxable.
Read moreTube Trouble
A ski resort is not liable for a man’s injuries in a snow tubing accident, an appeals court in Missouri ruled, because the man signed a release of liability contract before buying tickets for the tubing hill. As the man slid down the hill on a rubber inner dub, his foot hit a crevice in the slope, breaking his leg in two pieces.
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Tofurkey Maker Asks Panel to Nix Missouri Rules for Meat Substitute Labels
The maker of vegetarian meat substitute Tofurky battled Missouri at the Eighth Circuit on Thursday afternoon over a state law restricting the use of the word “meat” and similar phrases on its product packaging.
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Closing Arguments Delivered in Trial Over Missouri Public Defender Wait List
Missouri’s efforts to reduce the time poor criminal defendants must wait for a public defender are commendable but they don’t make the state’s waiting list constitutional, an ACLU attorney said Wednesday during closing arguments of a two-day bench trial.
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Bench Trial Over Missouri Public Defender Waiting Lists Kicks Off
Missouri’s practice of placing poor criminal defendants on a wait list for a public defender was the best option among bad choices in balancing right to counsel with overwhelming caseloads, the former director of the state’s public defender office testified Tuesday in a trial challenging the system.
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Missouri Lawmaker Asks Panel to Let Her Block Online Critics
An ongoing debate over the First Amendment responsibilities of elected officials on social media made it to the Eighth Circuit on Tuesday afternoon, where attorneys sparred over whether public officials’ social media accounts are public forums.
Read moreBallot Signatures
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled against the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP and voters in their challenge against the state’s requirement that signatures on certain absentee and mail-in ballots be acknowledged by a notary.
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Missouri Secretary of State Faces Lawsuit From State Auditor
Republican Secretary of State John Ashcroft pushed back Wednesday on allegations by Democratic state Auditor Nicole Galloway that an investigation launched by his office is politically motivated.
Read moreOverworked Public Defenders
A Missouri appeals court reversed the denial of a public defender’s office request for relief from excessive caseloads. While courts cannot review whether the public defender’s office has exceeded a caseload standard, it may consider whether individual public defender attorneys are unable to provide effective assistance of counsel due to caseload issues.
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St. Louis Couple Charged Over Standoff With Protesters
A couple who drew national headlines after waving guns at hundreds of civil rights protesters in front of their St. Louis home were indicted Tuesday afternoon by a city grand jury.
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Missouri Defends Abortion Restriction as Way to Save Children With Down Syndrome
The Missouri State Solicitor General told an Eighth Circuit panel Thursday that the state’s tightened abortions protect fetuses diagnosed with Down syndrome from discrimination.
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Shaky Reception at 8th Circuit for Missouri Liquor Licensing Rules
Thwarted in his quest to acquire a wine from his birth year, a lawyer fighting Missouri’s ban on out-of-state liquor sales appeared to strike a chord Thursday with the Eighth Circuit.
Read moreHigh School Sports
Parents of high school athletes in Missouri sued the County of St. Louis over an order temporarily shutting down high school sports because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The plaintiffs say the order affects more than 100,000 students.
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Eighth Circuit Rules Grand Juror Can’t Speak Out About Michael Brown Case
A member of the Michael Brown grand jury’s right to free speech does not circumvent the state’s secrecy laws pertaining to such proceedings, the Eighth Circuit ruled Friday.
Read moreMedicaid Expansion, Tight Races Bring Missouri Voters Out
(CN) — Following the trend of eye-raising political upsets by Progressive Democrats, Cori Bush has ended Lacy Clay’s reign as
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