Missouri state regulations dictate that records revealing public actions like court papers, arrest records, marriage licenses, traffic infractions and more are open and available to the public, largely because of the 1973 Missouri Sunshine Law. This data contain names, dates, specifications on cases, sentences, procedures and more, and generally are all presumed public unless otherwise stated. Both government bodies and offenders may be held accountable because of their actions as a result of these laws, which give the citizenry with the tools they require to study problems outside of their governing administration.