Source: ACSOL
[6/3/26 NOTE: This article was updated to reflect the court’s decision impact]The U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, issued a decision on May 29 declaring that the Missouri Halloween sign law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The decision also permanently enjoins the Attorney General as well as the City of Hazelwood from enforcing that law.
“This decision is significant in that it directly protects the plaintiff in the case from the Halloween sign law,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “This decision will also indirectly protect the remaining registrants in the state of Missouri, however future litigation may be required.”
The same district court issued a similar decision in October 2024 that included a permanent statewide injunction, however, that decision was appealed by the Attorney General of Missouri to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court agreed in January 2026 that the Missouri Halloween sign law was unconstitutional but returned the case to the district court for a final remedy.
After the appellate court issued its decision, the Attorney General of Missouri stated that it would request review of the appellate court decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. The deadline for making that request is July 5.
“Given the history of this case and the decisions made by both the trial court and appellate court, the U.S. Supreme Court is not expected to grant review,” stated Bellucci.
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Terrific news!! Thank you Janice, well done! What a great week of wins – coming in threes: this win, the NARSOL suit, and in IL the court denied a motion to dismiss a suit filed by Illinois Voices against Illinois State Police for not having an adequate process for correcting errors on the Illinois SO Registry – a violation of the 14th amendment. This win in MO by Janice and ACSOL is the icing on the cake!
Thank You, Janice,
The people in MO ARE GRATEFUL FOR ALL YOUR EFFORTS
Thank you Janice!
Not being forced to speak the governments message is a core principle. Rulings have fallen in line with License Plates, State Issued Identification, and now Signs posted on properties. What about passports next? Chipping away at the chopping block one ruling at a time, amazing!
Excellent news! Congratulations Janice! Of course the Attorney General has to press the issue because they are paid to so they’re just doing their job even if they pretty much believe it’s going to be a failed petition in the end.
Great News! Thank you to everyone who has put in countless hours, Thank You! Now with This Decision Could us Registrants File a class action on the State of Missouri for the Violations of our Rights on Constitutional Violations, and make some noise!
Can politicians come with signs, ” I’m stuck on stupid.” ?
“They are now safe from the requirement to post a sign on their home on Halloween.”
But still not safe from being forced to post the same sign on the internet.
How is one sign unconstitutional and the other not?
Congrats, ACSOL and Janice!
It has been over 20 years… If SCOTUS takes the case it could be an opportunity to expand it and have them revisit their position in the Smith precedent. A lot has happened since then that has further demonstrated increasingly punitive-by-effect policies.
Of particular concern with specific enforcement mechanisms like the Halloween ordinances, is that it casts a wide net that ensnares innocent family members and cohabitants of a residence who have never committed a crime and yet are adjacently subjected to enforcement provisions by their mere proximity to a PFR. This more than anything else calls such laws into question. Even if we don’t speak up for ourselves, we MUST speak up for our loved ones.
THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!!! 🎉🎉🎉
Great job, Janice!! 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
You’ve done it again! ⭐⭐⭐⭐
AWSOME: I saw in a county close to the county in which I reside, an agency posted pictures and information under the guise of “warning’ people to the locations of registrants on Facebook. This was done after the first decision. Maybe making the registry non public is another incremental step. I showed the list to my State Representative so my Representative would know how the registry is used. Let’s be honest. We all want safety. We all want rehabilitation when possible. Who really gains from permanent isolation?
Well done by ACSOL. Personally, I’m not at all surprised by this outcome.
I hope I’m wrong, but expect this same fight will be fought again somewhere in the US this year. I still find it troublesome that Janice, other advocates, and the courts have to waste limited time and resources re-litigating this same issue to reach the same inevitable conclusion.
The entire registry violates the U.S. Constitution, but they circumvent that by using the “civil in nature” loophole and other lowbrow tactics.