Case against Pettis County Commission, IT department head dismissed without prejudice

SEDALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A court case filed last year against the Pettis County Commission and the head of its IT department was dismissed without prejudice on Thursday.

The case centered around cameras installed in the courthouse, with Pettis County Clerk Nick La Strada claiming in the petition that the audio and video recordings violated voters’ rights to cast their ballots in secret, are an invasion of privacy, according to previous reporting.

According to dismissal documents, the director of the county’s IT department confirmed that all cameras in the Pettis County Courthouse are disabled and that video and audio transmissions and recordings have stopped.

According to previous reporting, the clerk’s office moved to the Pettis County Courthouse in June 2022 and became aware that there were cameras in the building, but were told by IT employees that they did not record audio. IT employees had access to transmissions from the cameras, court documents said.

The petition also included accusations of cameras recording employees who were changing clothes and were “in states of partial nudity."