After several months of harsh words and dueling legal briefs, state Attorney General Andrew Bailey鈥檚 bid to oust St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is heading to a courtroom.
Judge John Torbitzsky will hear motions on Tuesday involving what鈥檚 known as a quo warranto. That鈥檚 the judicial procedure that Bailey is trying to use to remove Gardner from office.
The catalyst for Bailey鈥檚 move came when Daniel Riley seriously injured teenage athlete Janae Edmondson, who was walking in downtown St. Louis. Riley had violated terms of his bail numerous times before his car crashed, causing Edmondson to lose both of her legs.
But Bailey has pointed to broader issues than just the Edmondson case: , Bailey sought to portray Gardner鈥檚 office as awash in dysfunction 鈥� resulting in giant caseloads and dismissal of cases due to a failure to prosecute.
鈥淸Gardner] is quick to deflect blame onto the attorneys she has failed to supervise, train, and support,鈥� Bailey wrote in a March court filing. But Gardner 鈥渇ails to heed another Missourian鈥檚 wisdom that the buck stops with her.鈥�
Gardner has said Bailey has no grounds to remove her from office. She added in a recent filing that Bailey鈥檚 move is 鈥渇or political and not legitimate purposes.鈥�
鈥淢r. Bailey improperly seeks to hold Ms. Gardner strictly liable for any purported mistake of an employee in the Circuit Attorney鈥檚 Office, without regard to whether Ms. Gardner took or failed to take any action with regard to that mistake, and without regard to whether Ms. Gardner ordered, approved or ratified the conduct at issue,鈥� her attorneys stated in an April court filing.
After the filing made that argument, reported that an assistant circuit attorney resigned from her post. She cited Gardner鈥檚 brief blaming her staff for the office鈥檚 problems as a sign of continued dysfunction when she quit last week.
And Gardner faced more turmoil on Monday after a judge filed for her to be held in contempt after an assistant circuit attorney didn't show up to a murder trial.
"This conduct thwarts and defeats the authority of the Circuit Court of St. Louis," wrote Judge Scott Millikan.
Millikan ordered Gardner to appear before the court on April 24 on the contempt filing.
鈥榃illful neglect鈥� standard
Most legal experts who have spoken to 漏 2024 外网天堂 about the Gardner quo warranto point to a precedent set in a 1995 Missouri Supreme Court case that could be critical in determining whether Bailey鈥檚 effort is successful.
That decision involved a bid to oust a sheriff in Cass County. Then-Supreme Court Judge Stephen Limbaugh noted that a successful quo warranto required proving that the officeholder engaged in 鈥渨illful neglect.鈥�
鈥淚t is something more than just a mere mistake or the thoughtless failure to act,鈥� Limbaugh wrote. 鈥淣eglect pertains to nonfeasance, the failure to act, whereas willfulness refers to intentional or self-determined conduct. Implicit in the idea of willfulness is the actor鈥檚 knowledge of the duty neglected; one cannot intentionally neglect a duty without knowing that the duty exists.鈥�
Attorney Joe Dandurand was part of the last attempt by an attorney general to oust a county prosecutor. He was also a Cass County judge when the 1995 Supreme Court case was decided.
Dandurand said if Bailey can鈥檛 convince Torbitzsky that Gardner willfully neglected her duties, then he won鈥檛 be successful in ousting her.
鈥淚t's a high bar,鈥� Dandurand said. 鈥�But this is not to say that there can't be evidence to the prosecutor's neglect of duty that is willful that is so compelling that a quo warranto shouldn鈥檛 be issued.鈥�
Some, including Dandurad, believe if Bailey is successful,
Some Gardner critics question whether quo warranto is way to go
Defense attorney David Mueller, who is running against Gardner in the 2024 Democratic primary, is critical of her performance but doesn鈥檛 support the move to oust her.
鈥淭o me, it's a voters' rights issue,鈥� Mueller said. 鈥淰oters pretty overwhelmingly voted for Kim Gardner in the 2020 election. And it's concerning when you see this dovetailed with the state [attempt at] taking over the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department again. It feels like the state of Missouri is trying to take over city and city politics. It's inappropriate. These are local problems with local solutions.鈥�
Another critic who isn鈥檛 sold on Bailey鈥檚 quo warranto efforts is state Rep. Lane Roberts.
The Joplin Republican is sponsoring legislation that would allow the governor to appoint a special prosecutor to handle certain types of cases. As written, it would only affect the City of St. Louis.
While Roberts is deeply critical of Gardner鈥檚 performance in office, he said recently on an episode of the Politically Speaking podcast that quo warranto 鈥渋s not a solution.鈥�
鈥淚f she were ousted, what prevents her from running again next time and getting reelected? It's not a solution,鈥� Roberts said. 鈥淭he solution for me is that we have a mechanism in place that allows the governor when things get out of hand to step in and make a state contribution to making it right.鈥�
Others like Republican Gov. Mike Parson said that what Bailey is doing is appropriate.
鈥淚 think [Bailey] is doing the right thing,鈥� Parson said to reporters in March. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e doing what the system allows you to do: You鈥檙e putting it in front of a judge to go through there and see the facts of the case.鈥�
If Bailey is successful, Parson will appoint Gardner鈥檚 successor, who would serve until the end of 2024.
Tuesday鈥檚 hearing is the first step in what could be a lengthy process. No matter what Torbitzsky decides, the case is likely to end up before the Missouri Supreme Court.
