Legal Roundtable Tackles ‘Kettling’ Arrests, Twitter Controversy, More

Mary Anne Sedey, Mark Smith and Bill Freivogel joined host Sarah Fenske for our monthly Legal Roundtable.
Evie Hemphill | St. Louis Public Radio
Mary Anne Sedey, Mark Smith and Bill Freivogel joined host Sarah Fenske for our monthly Legal Roundtable.
Credit Evie Hemphill | St. Louis Public Radio

A federal lawsuit is seeking class action status in connection with the so-called “kettle” arrests in 2017. One of the attorneys, Javad Khazaeli, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that more than 340 officers are named in the lawsuit as a “best estimation” and that St. Louis officials won’t provide an accurate list.

On Monday’s St. Louis on the Air, Sarah Fenske hosted our monthly Legal Roundtable to discuss those arrests. Other legal issues up for discussion included recent happenings in the St. Louis circuit attorney’s office, attorney Hal Goldsmith speaking publicly for the first time about his prosecution of former St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger, and an ongoing case about whether a Missouri representative can block a constituent on Twitter.

Joining the discussion were:

  • Bill Freivogel, professor for the School of Journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
  • Mark Smith, associate vice chancellor and dean for Career Services at Washington University
  • Mary Anne Sedey, attorney at St. Louis-based Sedey Harper Westhoff P.C. She specializes in employment issues


St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by Sarah Fenske and produced by Alex Heuer, Emily Woodbury, Evie Hemphill, Lara Hamdan and Alexis Moore. The engineer is Aaron Doerr and production assistance is provided by Charlie McDonald.

Send questions and comments about this story to feedback@stlpublicradio.org.

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

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Alex Heuer joined St. Louis Public Radio in 2012 and is the executive producer of St. Louis on the Air. Alex grew up in the St. Louis area. He began his public radio career as a student reporter at Tri States Public Radio in Macomb, Illinois and worked for a few years at Iowa Public Radio. Alex graduated summa cum laude from Western Illinois University with a degree in history and earned a teaching certificate in 6 - 12th grade social studies. In 2016, he earned a Master of Public Policy Administration with a focus in nonprofit organization management and leadership from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has won local and national awards for reporting and producing and his stories have been featured nationally on Morning Edition and All Things Considered.