American Civil Liberties Union

Marijuana: Major Increase In St. Louis County Pot Arrests Over Last Decade, ACLU Says

Over the past decade, the number of marijuana arrests in St. Louis county has steadily climbed to levels four times greater than in 2001. "They seem to be prioritizing marijuana arrests in St. Louis county," John Chasnoff, program director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri, ... More >>

Marijuana Report: St. Louis Arrests Blacks For Possession 18 Times More Often Than Whites

In the city of St. Louis, black people are arrested for marijuana possession eighteen times more often than white people. This is the according to a new report from the American Civil Liberties Union, which says that law-enforcement agencies in the U.S. waste billions of dollars on racially biased ... More >>

Jay Nixon Vetoes Anti-Sharia Law Bill, Says It Would Hinder Foreign Adoptions In Missouri

Late one evening last month, in one fell swoop at the end of the legislative session, Missouri lawmakers passed three conservative bills that earned the state a bit of national mockery: A bill to block all federal gun control, legislation to restrict a 1992 United Nations green development pledge -- ... More >>

Street Performers Win Temporary Injunction Against City of St. Louis Buskering Law

Calling all scofflaw buskers -- if you were putting off getting your 2013 street performer's license, this is the month to do it. A judge issued a preliminary injunction yesterday prohibiting the city of St. Louis from enforcing the latest updates to its buskering law, which bumped up the price of ... More >>

Ste. Genevieve County Jail Inmates Will Receive Newspapers Behind Bars After ACLU Dispute

Missouri inmates have a right to get married behind bars -- and they also have a right to receive newspapers. So says the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri, which has a record of advocating for the incarcerated and has announced a settlement in a recent dispute regarding newspaper s ... More >>

Street Musicians, ACLU Sue City of St. Louis Over Permit Law Requiring Fees, Auditions

When saxophonist Frederick Walker retired from his band "Mystic Voyage" after 21 years, he decided he didn't want to hang it up completely. He took his talents to the streets, specifically the 9th Street side of the Soulard Market, to try his hand at buskering. "I'm 70 years old and I thought it w ... More >>

U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Warrantless Blood Tests for DUI Suspects in Missouri Case

Cops cannot force suspected drunk drivers to give a blood sample without a warrant, according to a ruling this week in a Missouri case that made it all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. The decision has broad implications for Fourth Amendment rights, says Tony Rothert, legal direc ... More >>

ACLU: Ellisville Illegally Prosecuting Drivers Who Flash Headlights, Charging $1,000 Fines

In the city of Ellisville, police officers are regularly issuing citations to drivers who flash their headlights as warnings to other drivers -- and then charging them with fines as high as $1,000. So says the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri, which is challenging the city for a ... More >>

Marriage Behind Bars: Judge Rules Missouri Law Can't Block Inmates From Tying the Knot

As the United States Supreme Court takes up gay marriage this week, in Missouri there's been progress in a different kind of marriage equality battle: the right to tie the knot behind bars. The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri has been fighting for months on behalf of a group of ... More >>

Linn State Technical College: Federal Judge Orders School to Stop Drug Testing Students

Do colleges have a right to mandate all students pass drug tests? The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri has argued that it's an unconstitutional practice -- and it seems a federal judge agrees in the case of one local college. The ACLU filed a lawsuit in 2011 against Linn State Te ... More >>

Ku Klux Klan Can Pass Out Handbills in Missouri, Court Rules in Free-Speech Case

In a victory for First Amendment supporters -- and white supremacists -- a federal judge ruled yesterday that a St. Francois County city cannot prohibit the Ku Klux Klan from distributing leaflets on city streets. The decision isn't all that surprising. The courts have ruled in favor of the Traditi ... More >>

Salem Library Told to Stop Wiccan Censorship: "We Are Pleased This Matter is Behind Us"

Public library officials in Salem are pleased with a court order against them this week that says they cannot block Wiccan and Native American websites -- after the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri accused them of refusing to allow a patron to conduct online research on certain rel ... More >>

Censorship Battle: Missouri Library Can't Ban Wiccan, Pagan Websites, Court Rules

A judge has issued a ruling in Missouri's very own Salem Witch Trial. A federal district court has ordered the public library in Salem, Missouri to stop blocking patrons' access to websites relating to minority religions, which web filters had at times apparently classified as "occult" or "crimina ... More >>

Kelly Glossip: ACLU Fights Missouri to Get Benefits for Same-Sex Spouse of Killed Trooper

On Christmas day of 2009, Missouri State Trooper Dennis Engelhard was killed in the line of duty while responding to an accident -- leaving behind his long-time spouse Kelly Glossip. Now, more than three years later, Glossip is still fighting to get basic "survivor benefits" that have been denied ... More >>

ACLU: Proposition A for Local Control of Police is a Huge Mistake. Reject It!

Once upon a time in Missouri, back in the Civil War, our governor's heart belonged to the Confederacy. But St. Louis and its mighty police force leaned Union. So the governor and his legislator pals in Jefferson City created a state board to control us. That system is still in place a century and a ... More >>

State Rep Jamilah Nasheed: Governor's Control of STL City Police "Built on Evil and Hatred"

This November, Missourians must will decide whether to release St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department from state control -- a vestige of Civil War politics -- and allow the city to oversee its own cops.  Few people have wanted this more than state Representative Jamilah Nasheed of the 60th di ... More >>

ACLU Challenges Amendment 2, But Not Because of Why You're Thinking

On Tuesday, Missourians overwhelmingly voted for Amendment 2, more commonly known as the "right to pray" amendment. The amendment ensures that everybody in the state has the right to express their religious beliefs, acknowledge God in public, and pray whether they're in a school, public building or ... More >>

ACLU Wins Sunshine Lawsuit Against St. Louis Corrections

During its efforts to improve the way inmates can complain about abuse, neglect, or poor conditions in the city's workhouse, the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri hit a brick wall. When the inquiry started, they were cooperating with then-Corrections Commissioner Gene Stubblefield. ... More >>

The Gay Selma: Schools ignore gay bullying at their own peril

Lawsuit Against Mandatory Drug Tests at Linn State Gets Class-Action Status

​An update to that story we told you about earlier this fall when Linn State Technical College in rural Missouri announced it would drug test all new students entering the school. In September the ACLU of Eastern Missouri sued the institution arguing that suspicionless drug testing viola ... More >>

ACLU of Eastern Missouri Honors Three Social Justice Titans Tonight

​Tonight, the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri hosts its 40th annual Bill of Rights Celebration. Three local activists will be honored for their work in diverse areas of civil liberties.

ACLU Sues Linn State Technical College Over Mandatory Drug Tests

linnstate.eduTechnical college technically violates the Constitution, says ACLU.​Well, that didn't take too long. Last week we told you about how administrators at Linn State Technical College planned to drug test every new student entering the school. Today we're back to report that the ACLU has ... More >>

ACLU Sues Missouri School District for Blocking Student Access to LGBT Websites

​Last week we told you about how Internet software used by dozens of school districts in Missouri blocked student access to websites dealing with gay, lesbian and transgender issues. Now the ACLU of Eastern Missouri has sued one of those districts, which it says refuses to lift the block for its s ... More >>

Internet Filter for Missouri Schools Censored LGBT Websites

The Trevor Project was one of at least 23 LGBT issue sites blocked by Netsweeper.​Internet security software used by dozens of school districts in Missouri censored students from accessing websites dealing with LGBT issues. The Missouri Research & Education Network (MOREnet), a division of the ... More >>

Missouri School Illegally Censoring the Internet, Draws ACLU Attention

Don't tread on my access to health information.​Updated at 4:50 p.m. with comment from school district's attorney.Updated at 3:30 p.m. with comment from the school superintendent.A school district in central Missouri is illegally censoring the internet, the ACLU says, and the organization is deman ... More >>

Did the City Punish the ACLU for Investigating Abuse Cases?

​Last December, the St. Louis Division of Corrections downgraded the visitation rights of the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri from "professional" to "social" status, effectively making it more difficult for ACLU representatives to meet with inmates in the city's downtown jai ... More >>

Kelly Glossip: Same-Sex Partner of Missouri Trooper Killed in Line of Duty Sues for Benefits

Via ACLUGlossip (left) and Engelhardt lived together and raised Glossip's son from a previous relationship.​Kelly Glossip lost his partner of fifteen years, Dennie Engelhard, last Christmas morning. Engelhardt, a trooper with the Missouri Highway Patrol, was assisting a stranded motorist on Inters ... More >>

Amongst Us

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's reign of terror becomes Arizona policy, thanks to state Senator Russell Pearce and Governor Jan Brewer

An Opportunity to Stand Up

Village Voice Media underwrites an ACLU lawsuit against the state of Arizona

RFT Founder Ray Hartmann to Speak at Missouri NORML Conference on Saturday

Ray Hartmann at the University of Missouri, his alma mater​If you see smoke wafting out of the Randall Building at 3022A Cherokee Street on Saturday don't call the fire department. It's probably harmless.The Missouri chapter of NORML -- the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law -- ... More >>

St. Louis Police Apologize to "Anarchists"

Dan Green, owner of the home, called "Bolozone", where many of the protesters were rounded up by police.​The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has reached a settlement with four would-be protesters arrested prior to the 2003 World Agriculture Forum held in St. Louis. The demonstrators -- wh ... More >>

Jail Hanging Provides ACLU a Pawn In Its Spat with City

flickr.com/photos/sin_aguaSomeone's credibility hangs in the balance. Question is: Is it the city's or the ACLU's? The cynic in me can't help thinking that the ACLU of Eastern Missouri must be at least a little pleased that an inmate hanged himself this week at the St. Louis City Justice Center. Aft ... More >>

ACLU Decries Conditions in St. Louis City Jails; Sends Report to Justice Department

kwamebuildinggroup.comThe Justice Center on Tucker Blvd. was completed in 2002 at a cost of around $80 million.The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri released a report today condemning conditions at two St. Louis City jails -- the City Justice Center and the Medium Security Institute ... More >>

Latest Score In World Series Ticket Scandal: Public 1, Cops 0

John Chasnoff has won a small but significant victory in his spat with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department over the World Series ticket scandal. Chasnoff got word Tuesday that St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Philip Heagney has ordered police to make public the report that initiated investigat ... More >>

St. Louis Weekend Round-Up, November 30 - December 2

You Have the Right to Have Fun

Back to the Bolozone

The "anarchists" finally get their day in court.

Don't Censor My Underpants

Happy Hour, Engaged

Mysterious Departure

Why did the ACLU's legal director hit the road?

Same As It Ever F**king Was

When it comes to censorship, the song remains the same

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Week of February 25, 2004

It Goes Without Saying

Our mom always told us not to complain, but even she would give us permission when it comes to apathetic politicians, rights-abusing mega-stores and itsy-bitsy cups of custard

Hell No, They Won't Go

Protesters say pens are for sheep, not Bush critics

Slaphappy

The mayor of tony Creve Coeur and her husband found a novel way of handling political disputes -- they sue critics

Joint Effort

Music, politics and business converge at NORML's 30th- anniversary celebration

Fox Schools Prepare for Holy War

Published the week of September 13-19, 2000

HEAVEN HELP US: THE NATIVITY FLAP IS BACK

Jesus on the Go

Woodson Terrace finds a simple but novel solution to the problem posed by having a nativity scene on public property

Unwise Men