Source: kttn.com 10/29/25 As Halloween nears, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is reminding residents about the state’s strict safety measures designed to protect children during trick-or-treating. Missouri law establishes specific restrictions for registered sex offenders on October 31. These regulations are intended to ensure the safety of children and maintain community peace. Under state law, offenders must adhere to the following requirements: No contact with children during Halloween-related activities. Offenders are prohibited from hosting, participating in, or attending any event involving minors. Turn off all outdoor lights and decorations by 5…
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MO: Missouri City Reverses Position on Halloween Sign Enforcement
The City of Hazelwood, Missouri, has reversed its original position regarding enforcement of a state law declared unconstitutional by a federal district court. In letters dated October 1, 2025, and mailed to all registrants residing in that city, the Hazelwood Chief of Police stated that registrants must post a sign on their home on Halloween. “It was difficult to understand why the Hazelwood Chief of Police would make such a significant mistake,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “That city, after all, is a party in the lawsuit that successfully…
Read MoreMO: Missouri City Threatens to Enforce Halloween Sign Requirement Despite Statewide Injunction
The City of Hazelwood, Missouri, has mailed letters to all registrants in that city stating that the City will enforce this year a state law that has been declared unconstitutional. That law requires registrants to post a sign on their home on Halloween. A federal district court judge issued a statewide permanent injunction on October 2, 2024, which prohibits enforcement of that state law. The Attorney General of Missouri appealed the district court judge’s decision to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals and oral arguments were conducted last month. In…
Read MoreMO: Missouri defends Halloween sex offender sign requirement at Eighth Circuit
Source: courthousenews.com 9/16/25 Missouri is trying to revive a mandate for sex offenders to post a sign on Halloween stating they don’t have candy or treats at their residence after the law was blocked last October. ST. LOUIS (CN) — An Eighth Circuit judge compared a Missouri law requiring sex offenders to post signs on Halloween saying they don’t have candy to a North Dakota law requiring landowners to post signs warning if there is quicksand on their property during a hearing Tuesday challenging the sign law’s constitutionality. “In…
Read MoreAttorneys Present Arguments Regarding Missouri Halloween Sign Law Before 8th Circuit Court of Appeals
Source: ACSOL Attorneys representing Thomas Sanderson, a person required to register, and the State of Missouri formally presented oral arguments yesterday before three judges of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. The focus of the oral arguments was a state law that requires all persons required to register to post a sign on their home on Halloween. During oral argument, the State of Missouri continued to assert that the sign requirement is conduct, not speech, and therefore not protected by First Amendment. The state also asserted that the sign requirement…
Read MoreMO: Court of Appeals Schedules Oral Argument in Missouri Halloween Sign Case
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals today scheduled oral argument in the Missouri Halloween sign case. The argument will take place on Tuesday, September 16, on the 28th floor of the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse located at 111 S. 10th Street, St. Louis, Missouri. The Court scheduled oral argument in a total of five cases that day beginning at 9 a.m. The Halloween sign case is listed as the second of those cases. The district court judge in this case issued a permanent statewide injunction on October 2, 2024, prohibiting…
Read MoreMO: Kehoe signs into law Missouri bill voiding NDAs in child sex abuse cases
Source: missouriindependent.com 6/10/25 Legislation to void non-disclosure agreements in child sexual abuse cases was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Mike Kehoe. The bill has been called “Trey’s Law,” referring to the late Trey Carlock, who died by suicide in 2019 after being sexually abused by Pete Newman at the Branson-based Kanakuk Kamps. Trey’s sister, Elizabeth Carlock, said at a hearing on the bill in February that he had to agree to an NDA as a condition of his settlement with the camp. “Trey told someone just before his death that ‘they’ll always…
Read MoreMO: Missouri bill to void NDAs in child sex abuse cases approved by House
Source: missouriindependent.com 4/22/25 Legislation that would void non-disclosure agreements in child sexual abuse cases received unanimous approval from Missouri’s House on Tuesday afternoon. The bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Brian Seitz from Branson, now heads to the Missouri Senate. Non-disclosure agreements are “legal mechanisms that were created to protect trade secrets, not trauma secrets,” Seitz said last week during House debate. “We must clarify the law on use of the NDAs in civil child sexual abuse settlements, so that survivors of such horrors who already feel shamed and silenced are also not…
Read MoreMO: Missouri Files Final Brief in Halloween Sign Challenge
Source: ACSOL The State of Missouri filed its final brief today in the pending federal case that challenges the state’s Halloween sign law. The next step in the litigation process is oral argument before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. No date has yet been set for oral argument, however, the parties must be provided at least 30 days prior notice. “In its brief, the State of Missouri continues to repeat its claim that the law that requires all registrants to post a sign at their residence on Halloween is…
Read MoreAL, KY, MS, OH, VA considering administrating Capital Punishment rape/sexual assault/sexual battery
Source: deathpenaltyinfo.org The States of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio and Virginia are considering administrating Capital Punishment towards those convicted of rape/sexual assault/sexual battery to those who have a living victim. Read the bills [AL, KY, MS, OH, VA registrants and supporters, fight this with writing, calls, and showing up]
Read MoreMO: Missouri Supreme Court Affirms Lifetime GPS Monitoring is Constitutional
Source: missourinet.com 2/12/25 The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled unanimously in favor of a lower court’s ruling, saying the sex offender failed to present evidence that a lifetime electronic monitoring requirement is unconstitutional. The woman sued the state Department of Corrections, arguing that electronic monitoring for the rest of her life violates her Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure. Her attorney also argued that women are different and much less likely to be repeat offenders. During a December court hearing, Michael Patton with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office…
Read MoreMO: Janice interviewed on TV news about Missouri sex offenders no longer having to put signs out on Halloween
Source: ksdk.com 10/29/24 ST. LOUIS — This Halloween, Missouri sex offenders won’t have to put a sign on their front door turning people away after a court decision earlier this month. Since August of 2008, registered sex offenders had to put signs on their doors on Halloween saying “No candy or treats at this residence.” Attorney Janice Bellucci represented a Hazelwood man challenging the law. “All the laws have one thing in common, which is they’re based on a myth or misunderstanding that people on the registry actually pose…
Read MoreMO: Attorney General Files Notice of Appeal in Missouri Halloween Case
Source: ACSOL The Missouri Attorney General filed a notice of appeal today notifying a federal district court in Eastern Missouri that they will seek review of that court’s decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. The district court’s decision permanently prohibits enforcement of a state law that requires registrants in Missouri to post a sign on their residence on Halloween. “We are not surprised that the Attorney General has filed a notice of appeal in this case,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “The filing of this notice, however,…
Read MoreMO: Children’s Advocacy Center reminds parents they are responsible for their children’s safety on Halloween
Source: yahoo.com 10/7/24 ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A long-standing Missouri Halloween statute for registered sex offenders has been abolished, striking down the requirement for posting warning signs outside of their homes. Since 2008, state law mandates that offenders stay indoors, keep their lights off, and display the signs to warn trick-or-treaters. Hazelwood resident Thomas Sanderson challenged the law after he was arrested days after Halloween 2022 for having a large display and handing out candy. Sanderson claimed the law forced him to express a message he didn’t agree with.…
Read MoreMO: This Halloween, Missouri sex offenders won’t have to post warning signs outside homes
Source: webstercountycitizen.com 10/4/24 ST. LOUIS — The state of Missouri can no longer require sex offenders to post signs outside their homes on Halloween stating “No candy or treats at this residence,” a federal judge ruled this week. Hazelwood resident Thomas Sanderson filed suit last year arguing the sign requirement violated his free speech rights because it forced him to make a statement with which he didn’t agree. This week, U.S. District Judge John A. Ross agreed, finding the sign requirement was a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.…
Read MoreMO: Federal Court Grants Permanent Statewide Injunction in Missouri
Source: ACSOL A federal district court in Missouri has granted a permanent statewide injunction that prohibits the enforcement of a Halloween sign requirement in that state. As a result of this injunction registrants in Missouri will not be required to post a sign on their home on Halloween. The permanent injunction does not apply, however, to the remaining Halloween restrictions that prohibit registrants from giving candy to children, decorate or their homes or leave on porch lights that day. Any registrant who violates those prohibitions could be convicted of a…
Read MoreMO: Court Asked to Clarify Status of Missouri Halloween Sign Requirement
Source: ACSOL A motion has been filed asking a federal district court to clarify whether registrants in Missouri will be required to post a sign on their home on Halloween this year. The basis of the motion is a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued in October 2023 and then modified in November 2023. According to the TRO’s, a Missouri state law that required registrants to post a sign on their home on Halloween could not be enforced. After the TRO was modified in November 2023, the court considered granting a…
Read MorePlaintiff Files Final Brief in Missouri Halloween Sign Challenge
Source: ACSOL Today the plaintiff in the case challenging Missouri’s Halloween sign requirement filed his final brief in federal district court. The brief includes testimony from the trial which took place in St. Louis on June 20. In the brief, the plaintiff repeated his argument that the Missouri state law that requires signs to be posted on Halloween violates the First Amendment because it is speech compelled by the government. The brief notes that the proper standard of review for this case is strict scrutiny, a burden the Attorney General…
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