Earlier this week the Freedom Center filed documents related to two of our cases with the Missouri Supreme Court.
The first filing addresses the Court’s opinion in our recent Kansas City Premier Apartments case. While the majority determined that at least part of KCPA’s speech was forbidden by state law and not protected under the First Amendment, it also said that KCPA would be exempt from regulation if it “merely wanted to advertise or provide information.” Ryan and Tiffany would like to conform their business to what the law allows, but neither the trial court nor the Missouri Supreme Court offered any guidance as to where the line is drawn between the information KCPA may lawfully provide and the communications that the Court believes to be forbidden. This filing asks the Court to provide that guidance so KCPA will not have to fear further enforcement actions while it waits to see if the U.S. Supreme Court will consider its First Amendment claims.
In the second filing, Brooke Gray is asking the Missouri Supreme Court to ensure her constitutional right to a jury trial. While the government has argued that it is only pursuing a civil claim against her, it can only win the case if if proves at trial that Brooke committed a series of Class A misdemeanors. In any other case where the government is attempting to prove that criminal acts took place, the defendant would be entitled to have a jury of their peers weigh the quality of the government’s evidence and decide the facts to which the court would apply the law. The trial judge in this case, however, has determined that Brooke has no right to a jury trial. In this filing, we explain why 130 years of Missouri law supports her demand for a jury.