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Planned Parenthood Challenges Petition

December 17, 2007 By

Lawyers for Planned Parenthood have filed a four-pronged legal attack on an effort to ban most abortions in Missouri.

St.Louis school teacher Mary Hickey is the front person for the lawsuit that charges a proposed petition campaign is not honest with the voters and that the Secretary of State and the State auditor are aiding the circulation of a petition that could put an unconstitutional law on the books.

Planned Parenthood spokesman Michelle Trupiano acknowledges the Illinois-based Elliott Institute is exercising its legal right of petition. But she claims there’s no constitutional right to put unconstutional language in the law.

The lawsuit says the Secretary of State has wrtiten ballot title that supposedly defines the issue—that does not. In fact, she says, it misleads the public about what the proposed amendment would do.

The lawsuit also says the state auditor has under-estimated the potential cost of the proposal because it does not, among other things, estimate the thousands of dollars of taxpayers moneythe state will have to spend to defend the law in court—if the petition does go ahead…and if voters do adopt its proposal.

No date has been set for a hearing.

 

download Bob Priddy’s story

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With:

Candidate Vows to Keep Fighting for Open Ethics Meetings

December 17, 2007 By

A candidate for Attorney General says she will press her legal challenge of the Missouri Ethics Commission whether or not she wins a first round in court.

At issue is whether the Missouri Ethics Commission should hold closed hearings to determine whether candidates in violation of reinstated campaign contribution limits are posed a hardship in complying with the law. The State Supreme Court reinstated the limits and said candidates must comply with the law unless they can prove that to do so would create a hardship. The court instructed the Ethics Commission to enforce the ruling.

The Ethics Commission proposes holding private sessions with candidates who claim a hardship. Rep. Margaret Donnelly (D-St. Louis) has filed a lawsuit against the commission in an attempt to force it to hold public hearings. Donnelly is a candidate for Attorney General.

Donnelly’s request for a temporary restraining order has been heard in a Cole County Court in Jefferson City. An attorney for the commission, John Pletz, has told the court that there is no need for the restraining order, because the commission is following state law. Pletz argues that the law doesn’t just give the commission the option of holding closed meetings, it requires closed meetings. Pletz says state law pertaining to the Ethics Commission is a classic example of a statutory exception to the general rule that state agency meetings be open to the public. He argues that the legislature fully intended to put requirements for confidentiality into the law.

The commission’s argument doesn’t convince Donnelly. She says the commission is following the rules that apply to normal procedures. She argues that enforcing the ruling of the State Supreme Court is anything but normal. Donnelly says confidentiality is important when investigating the possible violation of state. She says the investigation was essentially over when the Supreme Court issued its ruling with the only thing left to be decided is whether the candidate faces a hardship in complying.

Even if the court doesn’t grant her request for a temporary restraining order, Donnelly says she still has options. She says she will then ask for an expedited trial to make her case for open meetings before the court.

 

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Late Surging Titans Top Chiefs

December 17, 2007 By

The Chiefs finish the Arrowhead portion of their season at 2-6, the worse since 1971, as the Tennessee Titans win 26-14, scoring the last 13 points of the game.

Playing in front of a half-filled Arrowhead, Brodie Croyle connected on a pair of touchdown passes in the second, a 10 yard pass to Samie Parker and a 9 yard score to Kris Wilson to give the Chiefs a 14-10 halftime lead.  Croyle would finish 25 of 43 for 217 yards with those two TD throws, but would also be picked off twice with the game on the line.  It all fell apart late in the third quarter after John Carney kicked a 36 yard field goal to give the Chiefs 17-14, the Titans came right back in three plays to go up 20-17 after Vince Young hit Roydell Williams for their second touchdown of the day, a 41 yard touchdown pass.  On the Chiefs first play of their next possession, Croyle got picked off and the Titans had the ball again and drove into position to kick a field goal to start the fourth quarter 23-17.  After the Chiefs punted on their first series of the fourth, the Titans came back down and iced the game with another field goal. 

Once the Chiefs fall behind, their milk the clock, field position battle type of offense becomes ineffective. 

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,