After hearing three and a half hours of testimony and legal arguments Friday, Cole County Presiding Circuit Judge Pat Joyce gave lawyers up to 60 days to file post-trial briefs in a case challenging the MUSTANG Drug Task Force's compliance with Missouri's Sunshine Law.
Attorney Dave Roland of the Missouri Freedom Center in Mexico filed the lawsuit on behalf of Aaron Malin, of Chesterfield - now a University of Denver law student - who had been a researcher for the "Show-Me Cannabis" group when he started seeking information from various Missouri task forces on their operations and drug enforcement policies.
Malin testified Friday he initially heard back from most of the 27 multi-jurisdictional task forces he had contacted but, eventually, the MUSTANG organization stopped answering his requests.
Missouri's Open Meetings/Open Records Law has been on the books since 1973.
Among its provisions is the requirement "each request for access to a public record shall be acted upon as soon as possible, but in no event later than the end of the third business day following the date the request is received by the custodian of records of a public governmental body."
Dennis Crane was Callaway County's sheriff - and chair of the MUSTANG Drug Task Force executive board - during the period Malin was making his requests.
He testified Friday he replied to "some" of Malin's requests - because, he said, "I don't believe everything had to be answered."
The MUSTANG task force generally covers Cole, Callaway and Boone counties, and is funded by grants through the Cole County Sheriff's Office, as well as contributions from area law enforcement agencies.
Crane testified the task force wasn't controlled by any single law enforcement agency. "We're a group of law enforcement people with the understanding (that we) work together toward a common goal," under the direction of the executive board, he explained.
Malin said he made a number of requests between November 2013 and February 2015 for copies of task force reports - including "how the money (they) received would be used" - and minutes of the executive board's meetings.
Crane said, as the task force's records custodian, he felt he didn't have to release much of the information Malin wanted because "most of what we're doing in MUSTANG is undercover and active investigations" that are allowed to be closed by the law.
"He redundantly asked for information," Crane testified. "He kept submitting the same request. When they were redundant, I didn't respond."
Roland told reporters after Friday's hearing: "We believe the record clearly shows that (Crane), for months, acted as though he knew exactly what he was responsible for under the Sunshine Law - and then, suddenly, decided that he didn't want to comply with it anymore. There's no real, legitimate concern or question that the Sunshine Law was violated. The real question is whether they should be held accountable for that violation."
Roland told Joyce he sent a letter, at Malin's request, telling Crane the failure to answer Malin's requests violated the Sunshine Law requirements and that "there would be penalties" for those violations.
Crane testified, "I don't recall (seeing) your letter," then later told the court he might have deleted the email without looking at it.
Although several attorneys attended the trial, representing various individuals - including now-retired Cole County Sheriff Greg White, Boone County Sheriff Duane Carey, Jefferson City Police Chief Roger Schroeder and Columbia Police Chief Ken Burton - who served on the MUSTANG executive board, Jefferson City lawyer Michael Berry served as the group's attorney during the hearing.
Berry challenged some of Malin's statements during cross-examination and questioned some of the other witnesses, but called no defense witnesses after Roland closed his case.
Berry declined to be interviewed after the hearing - but told Joyce several times she shouldn't agree with Roland's argument, that she clearly should find in Malin's favor.
Roland reminded Joyce that Malin already has won a similar trial in Audrain County, where Special Judge Rachel Bringer Shepherd ruled Dec. 31 that the Mexico-based East Central Missouri Task Force's executive board violated the state's Sunshine Law when it didn't allow Malin to attend its January 2015 executive board meeting, as well as when it failed to announce the meeting ahead of time, post the meeting agenda and designate a records custodian, as the law requires.
"This case is part of a broader strategic litigation effort to make sure that those responsible for enforcing our laws are also, themselves, accountable to our laws," Roland told reporters.