Gov. Blunt's administration a frequent target of suits

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- There are no official statistics on such things. But when it comes to attracting lawsuits, Gov. Matt Blunt may setting the standard for future Missouri governors.

Nearing the end of his first year in office, Blunt's policies and laws already have been challenged by 12 lawsuits -- an average of one a month, or almost two a month when you consider that nearly all of those lawsuits were filed in the last half of the year.

The lawsuits allege numerous constitutional violations, the overstepping of powers, the denial of justice, the infringement on personal rights. The plaintiffs now number in the hundreds. And the battles are being waged before judges in both state and federal courts.

Some cases, Blunt's administration has preliminarily won; others, it has lost. For most, the final judgment has yet to be entered -- and perhaps won't be for months or years to come.

Two have challenged cuts to the state's Medicaid health-care program for the poor that were proposed and signed into law by Blunt. Another challenges cuts to state adoption subsidies that were contained in that same Medicaid legislation.

Three lawsuits relate to abortion. Two challenged the constitutionality of new abortion restrictions passed in a special legislative session Blunt called; another challenged a new policy of his Department of Corrections, which refused to take a prisoner to an abortion clinic.

In one of the odder cases, Blunt signed a bill barring the posting of public officials' and law officers' addresses and phone numbers on the Internet, then encouraged people to ignore it until lawmakers could repeal it. (Blunt explained that he signed the bill because he liked other provisions in it.) Not wanting to rely on Blunt's directive alone, several county officials took to the courts for an order blocking the law's enforcement.

After Blunt signed a bill making it harder for some injured Missourians to qualify for workers' compensation claims, more than 70 labor unions sued.

So did the adult entertainment industry when Blunt signed a bill barring nudity, lap dances and people younger than 21 in Missouri strip clubs.

Two lawsuits were filed challenging the decision of Blunt's Department of Natural Resources to relinquish the state's interests in an old railroad bridge that one day may become part of the Katy Trail State Park.

And 237 of Missouri's 524 public school districts renewed their support for a legal challenge of state school spending, alleging that a new funding method signed into law by Blunt only exacerbated the alleged inequities.

The governor verbally dismisses the lawsuits, but they may indicate something about their target.

"The present political climate calls for flexible, visionary leadership," said University of Missouri-Columbia political scientist David Webber. "And I think that both President Bush and Governor Blunt are into 'stick-to-your-initial position, regardless of what.' And I think that's part of the problem."

Upon further questioning, Blunt acknowledges he may be partly to blame for the litigation outbreak -- not because he's stubborn or rash, but because he is acting on his beliefs.

"You have a governor who is signing laws and setting policy within his administration that I would think reflects our conservative traditional values of Missourians," said Blunt, referring to himself. "Nobody should be surprised that liberals are trying to take us to court."

Some of the suing parties probably wouldn't consider themselves liberals. Nor would the governor consider himself a lawbreaker, as the lawsuits essentially allege.

But labeling is part of politics -- and now part of the court battles.