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The Maneke Law Group, L.C.

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The Maneke Law Group, L.C.

The Maneke Law Group’s practice has more than 25 years’ experience in the area of media law, inc

11/09/2023

https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2023/11/07/sunshine-requests-backlogged-missouri-attorney-general-office/71440461007

This is the unfair situation for Missouri citizens. Most sunshine requests are for limited amounts of information. A means needs to be provided to respond to those requests in a timely fashion.

Anyone making a sizeable request for records understands that It will take time to gather the records. (We are excluding here requests for electronic data, which obviously can be gathered in a few mouse clicks.)

To admit that your office is an ENTIRE YEAR behind in responding to requests of the public for public information should be an embarrassment to any public official. It should be sign of total failure to perform your job.

It definitely is not a sign of transparency.

A.G. Andrew Bailey says his office is on pace to clear a backlog of Sunshine Law requests from 2022. Much of the information is no longer relevant.

09/14/2023

This list! How cool is this?

In this latest edition of THE POWER LIST, Missouri Lawyers Media examines the state’s most powerful attorneys in sports and entertainment law.

08/29/2023

Happy 50th Anniversary to the Missouri Sunshine Law!

The Missouri attorney general continues to deal with a massive backlog of public records requests that is still growing.

07/06/2023

Sen. Josh Hawley went to Stanford University and then to Yale Law School. He is very smart. I don't know whether one of his aides made the decision regarding his response to the open records request that the story below reflects, or whether Senator Hawley himself chose to attempt to walk in the thin spots between properly responding to this sunshine request or choosing to wrongfully refuse this request.

I do know Judge Beetem and respect his knowledge of the sunshine law.

I also do not believe I have heard Senator Hawley ever apologize to his constituents for making a wrong decision. The skill of learning to acknowledge when you make a mistake is an important part of being an adult.

A Cole County judge ordered the state to pay more than $240,000 in legal fees over sunshine law violations by Josh Hawley's AG's office.

06/12/2023

Once some time ago, I asked the then-current AG (Koster?) for two months' worth of sunshine law requests, for a speech I was giving. I think I got copies of the requests in one long email within hours.

Hmmm.

Missourians seeking public records from the attorney general’s office face massive delays that could stretch out to more than a year.

05/26/2023

https://www.riverfronttimes.com/news/judge-blocks-post-dispatch-story-about-accused-murderer-40124941
The First Amendment has long been held to permit speech, with the remedy for speech solely being post-publication litigation for damages, if any. Courts have considered prior restraint a violation of First Amendment rights.

In a rare move, the newspaper is barred from publishing information about a man accused of killing a police officer in 2020

01/27/2023

If it walks like a duck…

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/st-louis-county-s-private-budget-talks-break-missouri-law-advocates-say/article_b08c7897-b96f-5b26-bbf8-0ae68d888fdc.html

I love the argument that governmental bodies get a lot more done when they meet in private. Yep, that’s a great argument…

But it’s not good government. And it is how corruption in government gets started. The sunshine law is there for a purpose.

St. Louis County government officials will meet monthly this year to discuss a looming budget deficit, but transparency advocates worry the budget process going forward won't comply with open meetings

11/23/2022

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/tony-messenger/messenger-a-citizen-s-sunshine-law-win-reinforces-josh-hawley-s-purposeful-violation/article_cc490cc2-ca04-5f6f-b8cb-14d5983105eb.html

When I did my first sunshine law case, there were lawyers in the Attorney General’s office who I admired greatly and who were so helpful to bat around ideas with as I grew in knowledge. NONE of those folks are still around. Seldom does the AG’s office file an amicus brief today supporting a plaintiff seeking access to records, like they used to.

This starts at the top and no, I don’t mean Hawley and Schmitt. (Although the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.) Gov. Parson is not a strong advocate for open records. And of course, Trump does not advocate for transparency in government.

You get what you vote for.

Decision in Edgar Springs highlights importance of former Missouri attorney general’s case.

11/16/2022

https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article268779897.html

At the very moment the acts in this story occurred, Hawley and his staff person who is named in the opinion were lobbying the state legislature for language that would have beefed up the sunshine law. I am 100% sure of those facts because i was working with him and his staff. I remember how uncertain I was in terms of trusting his staff that they were really supporting the changes that needed to be made. Now that I see what was going on with their other hand....

Pure duplicity. I'll keep the rest of my thoughts for next time we have a drink together....

Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem fined the Missouri Attorney General’s Office $12,000 for violating the Sunshine Law.

10/11/2022

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/st-louis-county-destroys-250-boxes-of-animal-records-after-cockroach-infestation/article_b520faff-a071-51a5-9f82-5e1deb9f6bca.html

It is a violation of section 610.027 to destroy public records that are the subject of a sunshine lawsuit.

But why isn’t it a violation to destroy records if a sunshine access request has been filed? Think about that point for a few minutes….

St. Louis County's animal control department destroyed 20,000 pounds of records without proper permission after cockroaches and mice infested the documents.

10/04/2022

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-leaders-promise-transparency-but-open-records-are-often-cloaked-in-secrecy/article_1d64583e-dff7-546e-b92a-2bf1749aa82b.h

The year 2023 will mark the sunshine law’s 50th anniversary in Missouri. The law is longer than it first was. In the 1990s, a number of additions strengthened the law. But in recent years, elected officials have worked hard to weaken the law. The last two or three Attorney Generals in the state have given only lip service to supporting transparency in government. Governors have been more interested in hiding information than giving the public access to information. The less the public knows about internal operations, the better they like it.
These are not “golden years” for sunshine in Missouri.

Missouri’s Sunshine Law turns 50 years old next year.

10/03/2022

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/sunshine-law-wait-times-make-st-louis-an-outlier-among-area-governments/article_f3b490b8-4413-54aa-b584-5e1d82210266.html -source=home-the-latest

It has always been interesting that there is no requirement in the sunshine law that a request for access to a public record need not be in writing. Certainly the custodian of records of a public body can grab a pen and write down the request ass a citizen makes it, so that it's clear what the citizen asked for.

Still, I've always suggested reporters make them in writing because it is much easier to document when it was made for purposes of the 72 hour rule. It also helps a reporter focus on exactly what they are asking for, because the tighter the request, the less expensive it is likely to be when the records are received. Yes, I know it may give clues about what you are writing about, but it's a trade off to keep costs low.

And no, I don't think there's a valid reason for public bodies to repeatedly advise they need additional time to respond to a request. In fact, I think there is language in the 2021 decision of Gross v Parson that repeated extensions are not envisioned in the law.

City government is earning a reputation for slow-walking Missouri Sunshine Law requests.

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2345 Grand Boulevard, . Ste 1600
Kansas City, MO
64108

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday	8:30am - 4:30pm

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+18167539000

Website

http://www.manekelaw.com/

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