MARIES COUNTY — The Maries County Commission is not being punished in any way  following an appellate court’s remanding of the commissioners for violating Missouri’s Sunshine Law when it issued an Emergency Order on April 6, 2020, but failed to give adequate notice of how interested parties and citizens could attend and participate at that meeting.

In its opinion, the Court of Appeals noted “the free exchange of ideas between citizens and government is a hallmark of democracy.” 

The lawsuit was brought by Plaintiffs Ron and Anne Calzone against the Defendants, the Maries County Commission and named commissioners Vic Stratman, Ed Fagre and Doug Drewel. 

The lawsuit began in Maries County Circuit Court and was appealed to the Court of Appeals-Southern District by the Calzones. That court determined the Sunshine Law had not been adequately followed and sent the lawsuit back to Maries County Circuit Court Judge John Beger, asking the court to determine if the public interest in the enforcement of the policy of Missouri’s Sunshine Law outweighs the public interest in sustaining the validity of the actions taken by the commissioners during the meetings that were closed. 

The Maries County Commission was represented by Prosecuting Attorney Tony Skouby. On Aug. 22 in Beger’s court, the Plaintiffs withdrew their challenges to all of the Defendants’ action in the commission meeting of April 2020, excepting only the commission’s Emergency Order on April 6, 2020. The order followed Governor Parson’s “Stay Home Missouri” order of April 3, 2020, which declared a state of emergency and ordered all individuals residing in the county to abide by the governor’s stay-at-home order. 

The Plaintiffs were not asking for monetary civil penalties. 

In the Judgement by Judge Beger, filed in Maries County Circuit Court Sept. 1, 2022, “The Court further finds given the seriousness of the situation, the ease with which the Defendants could have provided access to that meeting by giving notice of the telephone access and the deprivation of liberty sought to be imposed on the residents of Maries County by ordering them to stay home, that the public interest in having that meeting conducted in accord with the Sunshine Saw outweighs the public interest in sustaining the validity of the action taken in the close meeting and vote.” 

Judge Beger found in favor of the Plaintiffs and against the Defendants and the Emergency Order of April 6, 2020 is set aside and held for naught.