Shannon County Sheriff's Office and Commission lawsuit ends

SHANNON COUNTY, Mo. — The Shannon County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) and the Shannon County Commission saw their major issue come to an end in court last week.

Shannon County Sheriff Steven Hogan filed a restraining order against the Shannon County Commission in June after the Commission announced that they would terminate almost the entire SCSO staff because Hogan went 75% over the fiscal year budget by June.

The judgement from the July 29 court setting says that the Commission's actions to terminate the SCSO staff constituted a meeting, but the County Clerk posted no such notice of the meeting. Thus, the Commission's terminations of SCSO staff are voided.

Additionally, the court found that the voided actions are irrelevant, as the Commission does not have the authority to terminate the existing staff in the first case, pursuant to Missouri case law.

The restraining order is now dissolved, per the judgement.

Hogan published a press release on Facebook earlier today and said the court's judgement is not just a legal victory — "it is a resounding defense of democracy, transparency, and the rule of law."

"Let this be a warning: No one is above the law," Hogan said. "Not even the County Commission."

Hogan said the judgement doesn't even scratch the surface, and there's "much more to come."