Email: lee@plf.net, robin@ctyme.com, marc@perkel.com

Web Sites: http://www.plf.net http://www.perkel.com/pbl

On the 4^th day of October, 1999 the honorable J. Miles Sweeney, presiding judge of the 31^st judicial district of Missouri, ruled that the Standard Operating Guidelines of the Springfield Police Department will be produced to the Plaintiff in case #198CC4528, Lee Allen Martin, in electronic format. The honorable Court has ruled that production of the document to the plaintiff can be via the Internet, or by supplying the plaintiff with the information via diskette. Mr. Martin will then produce the document in question on the Internet for the public. The honorable Court ruled also that for the plaintiff to be required to pay the cost of redaction would be unfair and this information should be supplied without charges. Further, the honorable Court ordered that a copy of the unredacted Standard Operating Guidelines should be supplied to the honorable Court so that the honorable Court can make its finding as to the appropriateness of the proposed redaction. The Court will issue a final Judgment so that the plaintiff may proceed to the Appellate Court for a decision on the authority and constitutionality of any redaction of the Standard Operating Guidelines. The honorable Judge has set a deadline for the production of public governmental record of not more than 20 days. This will allow the Springfield Police Department 5 days more than what the Chief of Police promised on the 20^th day of September 1999 at the city council meeting. The honorable Court did recognize the plaintiff’s intention to file an appeal of the court’s decision as to redaction and is trying to provide the appropriate rulings. On this date the citizens of the state of Missouri have been empowered.

~over~

The American Civil Liberties Union has taken credit for the work done by the People's Legal Front in getting the Springfield Police Department’s Standard Operating Guidelines on the Internet.

Lee Martin, President of the People's Legal Front, Inc, filed the Lawsuit for Declaratory Judgment to open the Standard Operating Guidelines of the Springfield Police Department. The subsequent rulings by the Honorable Judge Sweeney to allow access to the Standard Operating Guidelines were the result of this lawsuit and not due to the request of the ACLU. The ACLU is willing to allow the Standard Operating Guidelines to be redacted and in the opinion of the PLF have sold out to the idea that our great nation needs a secret police force. The PLF will not agree to this premise of secrecy by governmental agents and agencies.

The People's Legal Front is a not-for-profit organization made up of non-attorney legal investigators dedicated to the eradication of ignorance of the law. Our primary means to effect that end is to make the laws by which we are all required to live, open and freely accessible to all citizens. The laws are not trade secrets of attorneys, judges or law enforcement.