Kim Gardner, the St. Louis circuit attorney, has refused to resign after Missouri attorney general Andrew Bailey issued an ultimatum for her resignation and then formally moved to remove her.
According to Bailey, the three claims made in the petition to remove are that Gardner has failed to prosecute cases pending in her jurisdiction, she has failed in her statutory and moral duty to stay in contact with victims of crime, and she has failed by not charging new cases referred to her by the police.
“At the end of the day, this is about the rule of law and about justice,” explained Bailey. “It is illegal to fail to discharge your duties in office.”
In an earlier statement, the attorney general pointed to a horrific incident in downtown St. Louis last week in which an out-of-town teenager was run over and had to have both of her legs amputated. In Bailey’s view, Gardner’s neglect as a city prosecutor is at fault: The driver who caused the accident was out on bond as he awaited trial for armed robbery.
“As Attorney General, I want to protect the people of St. Louis, and that includes protecting victims of crime and finding justice for them,” explained Bailey. “Instead of protecting victims, Circuit Attorney Gardner is creating them. My office will do everything in its power to restore order, and eliminate the chaos in St. Louis caused by Kim Gardner’s neglect of her office.”
Gardner hit back against those who have criticized her regarding this case, claiming they have an agenda.
“While it is true my office could have done more, to say we have done nothing is not only disingenuous but willfully ignorant,” Gardner said in a Thursday afternoon press conference.
Gardner had until exactly noon on Thursday to resign. If she didn’t, Bailey’s office promised to initiate immediate removal proceedings in the form of a writ of quo warranto, a mechanism to challenge a person’s right to hold office.
We are giving Kim Gardner until noon tomorrow to resign. If she refuses, she will face immediate removal proceedings in the form of a writ of quo warranto brought by our office.
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) February 23, 2023
The move would force Gardner to prove her legal authority in court.
The driver of the speeding vehicle, Daniel Riley, 21, was out on bond and under house arrest for allegedly stealing a firearm from a victim at gunpoint in 2020. Riley had been ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device.
Riley’s robbery case was supposed to go to trial last July, but was withdrawn and refiled. At that point, Riley had already earned 54 separate violations for failing to comply with the pre-trial bond conditions, according to Bailey’s statement. The now 21-year-old would go on to earn 50 more violations since July.
“The Circuit Attorney never filed a motion to revoke Riley’s bond,” read the statement. “This is the latest in a long pattern of brazen neglect. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney has a long history of failure to prosecute violent crime, with a backlog of at least 3,000 cases.”
Earlier this week, Gardner’s office said it was well aware of Riley’s criminal history, but said the decision to allow him out on bond was the call of the judge on that particular case. Gardner reiterated in her press conference that it was the judge, not her office, that was responsible for not revoking Riley’s bond.
However, a statement from the 22nd Circuit Court responding to Gardner’s accusation said judges are not notified of GPS violations. Only the attorneys of record are notified.
“This is not the time for finger pointing, it’s time to support this family, and ensure that justice is served,” read a statement from Gardner’s office.
The office added that the case against Riley had been complicated by the robbery victim’s death — but the victim is very much alive, according to his father, Jim Dandridge.
“Obviously, he’s alive. He just left to go to work. He’s a young kid. He’s 20 years old. He does all kinds of stuff. He’s perfectly healthy – healthy as a 20-year-old boy can be,” Dandridge told a local Fox affiliate.
Riley has been arrested for the maiming, pleading not guilty. This time, the judge denied him bond.
Criticism has not only come from Republicans like Bailey and Missouri governor Mike Parson. St. Louis Democratic mayor Tishaura Jones, who is a longtime Gardner ally, condemned her behavior.
“I hope the Circuit Attorney recognizes that seeking accountability and change is not ‘pointing fingers,'” explained Jones. “If she cannot do so, then she must do some serious soul-searching about her future as circuit attorney because she has lost the trust of the people.”