When residents in Missouri believe their local government is stonewalling them, the first place they turn for help is often the attorney general鈥檚 office.
It happens regularly. A resident goes to City Hall to see the plans for the development near their house, as bulldozers are already moving dirt. A government official says the resident can鈥檛 have the plans. A city council goes into closed session to talk about the new apartment complex, or the business that has a connection to the mayor, or some other important matter. Residents wonder why they鈥檙e shut out of the conversation. A reporter files a Sunshine Law request for the plans or emails about it from government officials, but is told there is nothing to see.
In Missouri, as in most states, the attorney general is in charge of enforcing the Sunshine Law and making sure that local governments are complying with its provisions on open records and public meetings. And that鈥檚 what makes this week鈥檚 order by Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem so damning, and so very important.
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Back in November, Beetem ruled that Missouri鈥檚 former attorney general, Josh Hawley, now a U.S. senator, had no respect for the rule of law when he did public business on private email servers and then spent years trying to hide his actions from the public. In a lawsuit brought by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2018, Hawley was accused of hiding records the committee sought in a Sunshine Law request. The records were related to Hawley blurring the lines between public and private business. The attorneys who brought the case were Mark Pedroli of Clayton and the Washington-based law firms of Perkins Coie and the Elias Law Group.
This week, the judge awarded attorneys鈥 fees in the case. One of the reasons the Sunshine Law allows for the awarding of such fees is to discourage government officials from breaking the law. And it evens the playing field so an average citizen can bring a case.
The money awarded in this case 鈥 $242,385.38 鈥 is likely a record for an award of fees in a Sunshine Law case. Taxpayers will foot that bill.
Taxpayers are paying for Hawley鈥檚 violation of state law and the intransigence of the attorney general who followed him, Eric Schmitt. He defended Hawley鈥檚 case in court for two years when there was zero doubt that Hawley鈥檚 office had violated the law.
Schmitt, too, is a U.S. senator now. Apparently, in Missouri, breaking the Sunshine Law and trying to cover it up is a path to success in the Republican Party.
鈥淚 think what the judge is saying is no matter what political party you are from, you can鈥檛 ignore the Sunshine Law,鈥 Pedroli says. 鈥淭he Sunshine Law is not partisan.鈥
It鈥檚 worth noting that Beetem, like Hawley and Schmitt, is a Republican. The harsh language in his November order stands as a rebuke to those who act like the Sunshine Law only matters when the other side violates it.
Here鈥檚 what Beetem wrote then, and why it was so expensive to taxpayers:
鈥淭he decision to withhold documents responsive to 鈥 the Sunshine Law requests was made by public officials who had personal and professional stakes in the documents not being released. 鈥 The Court acknowledges that this is the maximum penalty that may be imposed for a knowing and purposeful violation of the Sunshine Law and finds it to be appropriate given the position of the offending parties (the office of the Attorney General and its custodian of records).鈥
Indeed, if the people who are charged with enforcing the Sunshine Law are instead flaunting it, is it any wonder that other government officials, at the state and local levels, treat the law as a mere annoyance?
From 狐狸视频 to Pine Lawn to Edgar Springs to the governor鈥檚 office to the Missouri Legislature, there are regularly examples of public officials refusing to share public documents in violation of the Sunshine Law, with few repercussions until they are sued. In the cases that make their way to court, judges are increasingly showing their frustration with members of the executive and legislative branches who violate the law that allows members of the public to hold them accountable.
鈥淢ost of these costs are borne by the refusal to admit basic reality,鈥 Pedroli says.
In other words, if government officials would simply admit their mistakes when called on them, taxpayers wouldn鈥檛 have to foot such bills. By statute, Beetem could only fine Hawley鈥檚 office $12,000 for its violations. But nearly a quarter of a million dollars in attorney fees? That鈥檚 not chump change.
鈥淭hey did what they did and it鈥檚 obvious what they did,鈥 Pedroli says. 鈥淭he award of costs sends a message to all the local governments that they better get their acts together or their violations of law could be very expensive.鈥