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St. Louis corrections slow-walked records requests from ArchCity Defenders, judge rules

The Sunshine Law requests were repeatedly delayed.

ST. LOUIS — A judge found the St. Louis corrections department violated Missouri Sunshine Law after repeatedly delaying requests from a legal advocacy organization.

Note: The video above is from November 2023.

Judge Jason Sengheiser of the 22nd Judicial Circuit ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri. The ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of ArchCity Defenders after repeated delays for records from the City of St. Louis Division of Corrections. 

ArchCity Defenders sought “access to all use of force reports completed by correctional staff from October 2020 through present day [of request] that relate to the use of chemical agent at the City Justice Center.” The Division of Corrections delayed delivery of the records five times without giving a reason for the delays, as required by the Sunshine Law.

The Division of Corrections did not deliver any records until nine days after a legal petition was filed.

The city was fined $3,000 plus attorneys fees.

Anyone can use the Sunshine Law to request records from state and local governments. Media organizations often use the law to gather information for reporting to the public. Records should be delivered promptly and at minimal cost to the requester.

"We are grateful that the Judge recognized the City’s actions were deliberately taken to thwart the clear law requiring transparency from government actors,” said Maureen Hanlon, Managing Attorney for Civil Rights Litigation at ArchCity Defenders and Plaintiff in a news release. 

The City Justice Center and Department of Public Safety have faced recent scrutiny following a series of attacks and incidents in the jail.

In May, a guard and an inmate were injured in an incident. Detainees assisted the guard. Two inmates attacked a different guard on Aug. 22, stealing his radio, keys and pepper spray and freed about 40 to 50 inmates from their cells.

In a two-year span, seven inmates died and the CJC was the scene of multiple assaults and attacks.

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