St. Louis Observer: August 26, 2022
Today is St. Louis City Warrant Reset Day; nonprofit sues state over anti-unhoused bill; courthouse janitors punished for unionizing attempt; new MO voter ID law challenged
Editor’s Note
In lieu of an Editor’s Note this week, we encourage our readers to check to see if you qualify for St. Louis City’s annual Warrant Reset Day. This special setting provides the opportunity for folks with warrants in municipal court and some state court matters to cancel outstanding warrants and reschedule court hearings without being arrested. There is no cost to participate or to get your warrant recalled. There is additional forgiveness of up to $100 for parking fines.
More information for Warrant Reset Day may be found here.
In the News
Police, prosecutorial, and judicial accountability
Kansas City first launched its ShotSpotter program in 2012, meant to deter and reduce gun violence, but in the decade since the program began, homicides have actually increased. A national study has looked at ShotSpotter’s effect across nearly 20 years and in 68 large U.S. cities and has found that the technology “had no significant impact” on homicides or arrests. [KCUR/Peggy Lowe]
St. Louis County has received a $300,000 grant to research racial inequities within its jail at the Buzz Westfall Justice Center. Researchers from UMSL, George Mason University, and Florida State University will interview employees and detainees of the facility in a bottom-up effort to analyze ongoing issues of abuse and violence, among others. [St. Louis Public Radio/Rachel Lippmann; Riverfront Times/Monica Obradovic]
A new report by Yale Law School has revealed that nearly 50,000 people are held in solitary confinement in U.S. jails and prison facilities. An estimated 6,000 of those in solitary confinement have been held in isolation for longer than a year. [The Guardian/Ed Pilkington]
An estimated 22,000 residents in the St. Louis region are believed to be eligible to receive funds from a $1.3 million class action settlement with the City of Normandy, related to police and municipal court abuses. Normandy police historically targeted Black motorists, who were overwhelmingly issued citations, court fines, and warrants. [St. Louis Public Radio/Andrea Y. Henderson]
St. Louis County prosecutors have dismissed third-degree domestic assault charges filed against a former St. Louis County police officer, who had been accused of beating his 10-year-old son with a belt. Prosecuting attorneys agreed to enter into a “two-year deferred prosecution agreement,” which means that the charges will be dismissed and likely removed from the officer’s record after that period of time has elapsed. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Joel Currier]
Marcellus Williams was granted a stay of execution more than five years ago by then-governor Eric Greitens, but the appointed board - directed to examine possibly-exonerating DNA evidence - has failed to provide any meaningful recommendations to the Office of the Governor. Gov. Mike Parson’s office has refused to comment on the “board of inquiry’s” delay in examining Mr. Williams’ claims of innocence. [St. Louis Public Radio/Rachel Lippmann]
Economic development & housing
A Springfield nonprofit has filed a lawsuit against the State of Missouri for its unconstitutional law that targets unhoused persons who sleep on government-owned land and prevents state & federal dollars from being used for both temporary and permanent housing. The Gathering Tree has alleged that the new state law prohibits its access to funding because its facilities do not provide shelter for unhoused persons for more than two years. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Jack Suntrup]
On Wednesday, President Biden announced a round of federal student loan debt relief that will cancel debts for around 20 million borrowers. To qualify for the $10,000 forgiveness, individual borrowers must earn less than $125,000 a year, or less than $250,000 a year for couples. To qualify for the $20,000 forgiveness, borrowers must meet those income requirements and must have received a Pell Grant in college. [St. Louis Public Radio/Cory Turner, Sequoia Carrillo]
Further reading
After janitorial staff at the St. Louis City civil courts building began to organize with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the private contractor that employees the workers began to retaliate by cutting hours and even firing individuals for speaking with union members. The private contractor, Challenge Unlimited, has classified workers not as employees, but as “clients,” in order to skirt labor laws that would otherwise require the company to pay unemployment insurance and other benefits. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tony Messenger]
Opposition to Amendment 3 - the recreational marijuana legalization bill - has increased statewide in the past week, including by other advocates for legalization. Specific concerns include the insertion of additional crimes & expanded police powers into the state constitution, the prioritization of current medical cannabis license-holders in applying for recreational licenses, and the misrepresentation of “automatic expungements,” which apply to specific cannabis offenses & ultimately remain at the discretion of a judge who can deny them for “good cause.” [Missouri Independent/Jason Hancock; Kansas City Beacon/Meg Cunningham]
The first charter school established in St. Louis County had its first day of school this week, as part of the Normandy Schools Collaborative. The district has long been a target for the charter school movement, including the placement of the now-resigned superintendent who lacked the necessary credentials to lead the district and consequently impacted the district’s accreditation. The former superintendent was an employee of Opportunity Trust prior to his appointment to lead the district and he is a founding board member of the new Pagedale-based charter school. [St. Louis Public Radio/Kate Grumke]
A group of voter rights advocacy organizations has filed a lawsuit to block the State of Missouri from implementing its new voter photo ID law in the upcoming November election. The group also filed a lawsuit earlier in the week that challenges a new prohibition on payments to anyone who helps to register voters and the requirement to enroll with the State if a person registers more than ten voters. [Associated Press/Summer Ballentine]
Beyond the Paywall
To read these below articles in full, please visit SLPL.org and access these articles through the Digital Content tab. St. Louis City & County residents can read these publications for free using their library cards.
“Execution date set for man who killed Kirkwood policeman in 2005,” by Kim Bell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“St. Louis County Jail will be the focus of a study on racial inequity,” by Kelsey Landis, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Bridgeton police plan to close jail at night, house inmates in St. Charles,” by Erin Heffernan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Rockwood School Board member condemned for political hate speech,” by Blythe Bernhard, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Cop charged with manslaughter in 2020 pursuit that killed Moline Acres police sergeant,” by Kim Bell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“After half a century, St. Louis County Council chambers are now wheelchair accessible,” by Kelsey Landis, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“St. Louis expects to name new police chief by end of the year,” by Dana Rieck, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Legislative Update
St. Louis City Board of Aldermen
The St. Louis City Board of Aldermen currently is in recess. The Board will reconvene on Friday, September 16, 2022.
BB 26 and BB 29, sponsored by Ald. Megan Green (Ward 15), would put before City voters the ballot issue of enacting a surcharge on developers who reduced the number of units for housing rehabs and redevelopment. The bills were assigned to the Neighborhood Development Committee on May 13 and have made no further movement since.
Learn more about how a bill becomes a City ordinance.