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The 1967 movie starring Paul Newman is one of the best prison movies ever made. Most folks remember it for the line spoken by the warden after Newman’s character, Luke, tries to escape. “What we’ve got here,� the warden says,

He then gives Luke an attitude adjustment by putting him in the box.

A modern iteration of the movie is playing out in Cole County Circuit Court. Hatfield, who makes a living challenging authority, is trying to take Missouri’s warden — played in this case by Gov. Mike Parson — to task for failing to follow the state’s transparency law, known as the .

The story starts in 2016. That’s when a company called EngagePoint, Inc., sued the state over contract violations related to the Medicaid system. Missouri has had an awful record managing its Medicaid system, creating problems for poor people who want health care. EngagePoint was supposed to fix it but, it alleged in the lawsuit, the state kept getting in the way.

The company eventually of more than $23 million. The state, not wanting to admit fault or pay the money, appealed. (Interest on the penalty continues to accrue).

In 2022, Hatfield, who was part of the EngagePoint team, filed a Sunshine Law request on behalf of the company’s corporate successor, known as HHS Technology Group Holdings, LLC.

Hatfield was seeking documents related to the Medicaid program. The Sunshine Law requires governments to do business in public and make documents available so citizens can see what’s happening behind closed doors.

The Department of Social Services didn’t provide the records. Hatfield copied the attorney general’s office on his correspondence. He still didn’t get the records. Last year, he sued.

On Monday, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem ruled in Hatfield’s favor. The judge also sent a message to the state: start following the Sunshine Law or I’m going to send you to the box.

OK, he didn’t say that exactly, but Beetem didn’t mince words when arguing the state needs to take the Sunshine Law seriously. He has set an October hearing in which he will consider a fine and awarding Hatfield’s firm, Stinson, LLP, attorney’s fees in the case.

The state “intentionally violated the Sunshine Law to impermissibly gain an advantage in the EngagePoint litigation,� Beetem found.

In other words, some of the records Hatfield sought might have helped his client. The state decided to sit on them rather than follow the law. This is at least the second time in recent history that Beetem has chided state officials for ignoring a very important law.

Last year, he awarded about $250,000 in fines and attorneys fees for a Sunshine Law violation when Josh Hawley, now a U.S. senator, was the attorney general. Hawley’s staff used personal emails for public business.

When the attorney general’s office — which is supposed to enforce the Sunshine Law — and the state government are blatantly refusing to follow the law, it creates chaos. That’s why so many cities, counties and other government bodies in the state — including the city of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ — have shoddy compliance records with the Sunshine Law.

If the attorney general and the state government won’t follow the law, why would anyone else?

“The problem we have as a state is they see the Sunshine Law as a major inconvenience that they avoid at any cost,� Hatfield told me. “What we need here is an attitude adjustment.�

Until Missouri’s top officials decide the Sunshine Law matters, it’s going to keep costing taxpayers money. In the meantime, the state’s Medicaid system is still broken, with the for people trying to access healthcare.

Like violations of the Sunshine Law, those failures look “intentional� after a while. And they are costly.

“Until there is a culture shift,� Hatfield says, “they’re going to keep getting hit with judgments like this.�