Attorney General's News Release

October 31, 2008

Nixon stops second attempt to prevent enforcement of Halloween restrictions on sex offenders

Jefferson City, Mo. - The Cole County Circuit Court today denied a motion for a temporary restraining order that would have kept the State of Missouri from enforcing a law that restricts Halloween activities by registered sex offenders. The state law was successfully defended again by the office of Attorney General Jay Nixon, who also won a legal victory defending the law in the federal appeals court on Thursday.

Judge Pat Joyce denied the request for a temporary restraining order, which was filed this morning by the same plaintiffs who challenged the law in federal court.

"Parents in Missouri now have even more certainty that all portions of this law can be enforced tonight throughout the state, as their children go trick-or-treating door to door," Nixon said.