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The case centers on Missouri’s compulsory school attendance law, which states that a parent must ensure their child attends “the academic program on a regular basis."
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The Missouri Supreme Court last week ruled against Attorney General Andrew Bailey in a fight over a proposed abortion rights amendment. Bailey had pushed to falsely inflate the estimated cost of the ballot issue, but the court ruled he did not have that power — and forced him to sign off.
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The unanimous verdict was scathing in its assessment of Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who refused to sign off on the work of Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick. The court concluded that nothing in state law “gives the attorney general authority to question the auditor’s assessment of the fiscal impact of a proposed petition.”
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The attorney general's office refused to sign off on a proposed amendment that would add abortion rights to the Missouri constitution. Although the state auditor's fiscal note estimated minimal cost to the state, Andrew Bailey demanded that the auditor inaccurately increase the estimate by billions of dollars.
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After a Cole County judge invalidated the health powers of local governments in 2021, then-attorney general Eric Schmitt decided not to appeal the case. Local governments, who had used their authority to issue pandemic restrictions such as mask mandates, want the right to defend them in court.
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The court ruled that the Missouri Conservation Commission — not lawmakers — has the power to spend appropriated funds. The decision could influence a pending Cole County case over how much Department of Transportation employees get paid.
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The case centers around two parents, both of whom were sentenced to jail time because their six-year-old children missed too many days of school. Attorneys for the parents argue the state's rule mandating children attend school "on a regular basis" is vague and misleading.
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The court has weighed several contentious issues in recent years, including expansion of Medicaid, municipal court reform and the limit of collective bargaining for state employees. It has agreed to take a case weighing the authority of local and state health officials to issue public health orders.
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Kevin Johnson was sentenced to death in 2007 for the slaying of a Kirkwood, Missouri, police officer. But an extensive investigation found the state’s handling of death-eligible prosecutions was rife with pervasive racial bias.
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A special prosecutor appointed by the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which secured Johnson’s conviction, concluded that “racist prosecution techniques infected Mr. Johnson’s conviction and death sentence.” The Missouri Supreme Court on Monday denied motions to halt his execution, which is scheduled for Tuesday.
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Johnson was sentenced to death in 2007 for the slaying of a Kirkwood, Missouri, police officer. A special prosecutor is urging the court to stay Johnson's execution after an extensive investigation found the state’s handling of death-eligible prosecutions was rife with pervasive racial bias.
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Both Missouri and Kansas have non-partisan merit selection systems, although parts of both states still elect judges to office.