FOX 2 St. Louis published April 18, 2023: Kim Gardner faces more legal trouble regarding prosecutor no-show at murder trial. As the St. Louis Circuit Attorney joined her legal team in court on Tuesday to call for a judge to dismiss Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s case calling for her removal from office, another judge was threatening to jail her for contempt of court.
KSDK News published April 27, 2023: Judge calls Kim Gardner's office 'rudderless ship of chaos'. Judge Michael Noble on Thursday moved to hold St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and Assistant Circuit Attorney Chris Desilets in "indirect criminal contempt" of court after her office failed to show up at a trial and subsequent hearing in an armed robbery case. At the 1:30 p.m. hearing Thursday, Gardner's office was asked to explain why Gardner or someone from her office shouldn't be jailed, fined or both for contempt of court.
FOX 2 St. Louis published May 4, 2023: Kim Gardner resigns: St. Louis Circuit Attorney to step down June 1. After months of calls, requests, and demands for her to resign, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is stepping down. Her resignation is effective June 1.
FOX 2 St. Louis published May 3, 2023: As legal battles mount, Kim Gardner takes nursing classes. As challenges mount for St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, FOX 2 has learned that she is enrolled in a nursing program at St. Louis University.
FOX 2 St. Louis published May 1, 2023: St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office reeling after resignations. Two more prosecutors, in charge of the most serious cases, have now walked out of the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office. They are two former Kim Gardner employees who just last week took the brunt of contempt hearings brought by judges. Those prosecutors showed up without the backing of their boss, who did not appear at either hearing.
Fox4 News, Kansas City local
written by Kevin S. Held
Tuesday May 16, 2023
ST. LOUIS — Kim Gardner is stepping down as St. Louis Circuit Attorney two weeks ahead of schedule.
Earlier this month, the embattled chief prosecutor announced she would resign effective June 1. Gardner, the city’s first African American chief prosecutor, will instead leave her post May 16.
In a statement, Gardner said the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will handle priority cases until a replacement can be named. However, such authority hinges on the decision of a presiding judge and Gov. Mike Parson.
The Circuit Attorney has worked with St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell and his office to ensure a comprehensive transition plan is in place to handle cases that prioritizes public safety. Effective immediately, Kimberly M. Gardner will end her service as the City of St. Louis Circuit Attorney. Ms. Gardner has been committed to serving the people of the City of St. Louis and has done all she can to ensure a smooth transition. Further inquiries about ongoing cases can be directed to St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office
Chris King, a spokesman for the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, said if the judge and Parson signed off on it, prosecutors from across the area would be ready and able to assist the circuit attorney’s office.
“If we were to hear from the presiding judge and/or the governor that we’re in the right place, you would see a whole lot of prosecutors from a whole lot of jurisdictions — probably tomorrow, as soon as they could get in here — to help,” King said. “We are not alone in wanting to help.”
King said they were not aware Gardner was going to resign Tuesday. He said Bell has been in talks with the presiding judge and the governor’s chief of staff to try and get things sorted out.
The county prosecutor’s office would act as a transition team until Parson appoints a full-time replacement. King said attorneys for the county could start prosecuting cases. The biggest priority would be reopening the city’s warrant office.
“Our goal is to assess the level of need. I think we all understand that we’re in a crisis,” he said. “Our goal is to assess the level of crisis, to update the governor and, of course, the public on what the level of crisis is, how many cases need to be charged. We really want to get an open warrant office in the City of St. Louis, and I know that’s what the police want.”
Cases in the county would not be affected, King said, adding that they’re currently trying two murders in county court, and have quality trial attorneys on deck.
The symbiosis between St. Louis County and City means it’s imperative to help, King said.
“The City of St. Louis’ safety is critical to the safety of St. Louis County,” he said.
Gardner had faced legal battles on numerous fronts via Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s drive to remove her from office and indirect criminal contempt cases, and a dwindling roster of prosecutors in her office due to resignations. At least one St. Louis judge dubbed it a “rudderless ship of chaos.”
Gardner finally agreed to step down if state lawmakers would drop their push to approve a special prosecutor to handle felony cases in the city.
However, Gardner’s decision to resign in June did little to assuage Bailey. Within minutes of Gardner’s May 4 announcement, the attorney general demanded she leave office immediately.
During a May 3 news conference, AG Bailey said his office received information weeks ago that Gardner had enrolled in nursing courses at Saint Louis University fall 2021 to obtain an advanced nursing degree.
The attorney general subpoenaed the university and requested it turn over documents relating to Gardner’s class schedule, her hours and participation in class, hours she may have worked at the school, surveillance camera footage, and relevant conversation between Gardner and her instructors at SLU.
Gardner initially sought to quash the attorney general’s subpoenas, claiming Bailey’s quo warranto contained no references to her pursuits in the medical field. In a counter-filing made public on May 15, Bailey claimed that “On April 27, 2023 … Gardner apparently spent the morning and early afternoon hours completing clinical work in pursuit of her nursing degree.”
The attorney general said state law requires the circuit attorney and their assistants to “devote their entire time and energy to the discharge of their official duties,” making his request for Gardner’s school records relevant.
The April 27 contempt hearing was Gardner’s second no-show of the week. Three days earlier, a St. Louis Circuit Court judge declined to hold Gardner and another assistant circuit attorney in contempt after the prosecution failed to appear for the trial of Jonathon Jones, who was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action for the Sept. 6, 2021, shooting death of Brandon Scott near the Gateway Arch. Gardner’s outside counsel, Michael Downey, appeared at the April 24 hearing on her behalf.
But at that second hearing, Judge Michael Noble ruled for indirect criminal contempt proceedings for both Gardner and former deputy prosecutor Chris Desilets.
Bailey’s filing states that on the morning of April 27, an investigator working for the attorney general’s office went to the Family Care Health Center and found a vehicle in the parking lot registered to the City of St. Louis and used by Gardner for city business. The investigator watched the vehicle for nearly three hours and observed Gardner leave the health center that afternoon, get into the city vehicle, and drive to the Carnahan Courthouse in downtown.
Meanwhile, a total of 18 people have applied to replace Gardner as circuit attorney. Over the next two weeks, Governor Parson’s office will narrow the list of applicants to six, and then will present the governor with two or three finalists. Parson will interview those individuals and appoint Gardner’s successor. That person will serve out the remainder of Gardner’s current term, which is up in January 2025.
Gardner easily won the Democratic primary for circuit attorney in August 2016 over three challengers, including former St. Louis prosecutor Mary Pat Carl, and ran unopposed in the November general election. She assumed office on Jan. 6, 2017. In 2020, Gardner beat Carl again in the primary en route to landslide victory over Republican Daniel Zdrodowski.
Before becoming circuit attorney, she was a congresswoman in the Missouri House, representing District 77, covering part of St. Louis City. She won Democratic primaries in 2012 and 2014 by wide margins and ran unopposed in general elections. She declined to seek a third term, opting to run for circuit attorney. 👈 [(why did she not want to run for a third term when she knew it would be an easy win and set income? Because the Commie Democrats who are bankrolling her political career and other Commie District Attorneys across America wanted her to fill this seat and do exactly what she was instructed to do... protect the criminals. (emphasis mine)]
Gardner earned a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration from Harris-Stowe State University in 1999. She attended Saint Louis University School of Law and earned her Juris Doctor (law degree) in 2003. She went back to SLU and procured her master’s degree in nursing in 2012.
She began her law career at Bell, Kirksey & Associates, and worked at the circuit attorney’s office from 2005 to 2010.
Gardner, born and raised in north St. Louis City, worked at her family’s funeral home. On her re-election campaign website, she said seeing the effects of violent crime first hand inspired her to get involved in the healthcare and justice systems.
KSDK News May 19, 2023: Parson appoints new St. Louis circuit attorney to replace Kim Gardner. Gabe Gore replaces former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who resigned May 16.
Gore replaces embattled former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who abruptly resigned Tuesday, weeks ahead of when she was expected to officially step down.
About 100 people crammed together in the hallway outside the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office in the Carnahan courthouse for the governor's announcement and press conference Friday.
👇***REASONS WHY SHE WAS FORCED OUT***👇
The Commie Democrats want to make this about her race. But as you can see below, it was about dereliction of duty. Murderers were let go because she wasn't showing up to court to convict them as the prosecutor. Two judges placed her in contempt of court for failure to appear at the trial. (emphasis mine)
KSDK5 NBC News, St Louis local
written by Christine Byers (KSDK)
Thursday February 9, 2023
ST. LOUIS — Byers' Beat is a weekly column written by the I-Team's Christine Byers, who has covered public safety in St. Louis for 15 years. It is intended to offer context and analysis to the week's biggest crime stories and public safety issues.
St. Louis police officers who were around before St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner took office in 2017 tell me the number of cases awaiting decisions from prosecutors at any given time hovered between 300 to 500 cases.
Now, it’s in the thousands.
And this week, a video that went viral of a woman going on a racist tirade and beating a neighbor’s door with a hammer thrust those cases into the spotlight.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s Office says there are about 3,000 in their queue.
St. Louis police tell me it’s about 4,100 as of today.
But every day, that number changes.
And cases disappear.
That’s because the system that tracks them was only designed to hold about three years of data.
I obtained a copy of the database when it contained more than 4,500 pending cases near the end of 2022.
These are cases for which police officers have made arrests, and asked Gardner’s prosecutors to make a decision on whether to issue charges, refuse to issue charges or take them under advisement – which means there’s not enough to issue charges, but also not enough to refuse the case outright.
When COVID-19 hit, Gardner’s office began requiring officers to apply for charges via an email drop box.
That protocol still stands.
Judy Kline’s arrest in January 2022 on suspicion of first-degree burglary is among those that police sent in that drop box.
First-degree burglary is a nonviolent offense, according to the FBI’s standards.
There are about 40 other first-degree burglaries in the database 5 On Your Side’s Jacob Kuerth and I analyzed.
Here is a look at the top 10 most common cases pending review from Gardner’s office:
- Possession of a controlled substance – more than 1,000
- Tampering with a motor vehicle, first-degree – more than 500
- Resisting arrest – more than 400
- Unlawful possession of a firearm – more than
- 200 Unlawful possession of a weapon flourishing/controlled substance – more than 200
- Tampering with a motor vehicle, second-degree – more than 150
- Stealing – more than 150
- Burglary, second-degree – more than 150
- Stealing a motor vehicle – more than 100
- Property damage first-degree – more than 100
Now, the St. Louis Police Department is undergoing a massive overhaul of the cases.
Every officer has been asked to go through every case they’ve ever sent to Gardner’s office during the past three years, and attach every email they’ve sent to prosecutors seeking charges.
Internally, according to emails I’ve obtained, it’s called the Citywide PAW Project.
PAW stands for Pending Application of Warrant.
It’s police jargon used to label cases that have been sent to prosecutors for a decision.
The department told me it got a final disposition from Gardner’s office on Kline’s case this week – after videos of the crime went viral on TikTok.
The circuit attorney's office provided the following statement:
"The Circuit Attorney’s Office is working diligently (lol right) to address the situation. We have invested additional resources to handle these cases pending application of warrants (PAW’s) and we look forward to continuing to reduce and eventually eliminate this number.
"Our office currently accepts in-person appointments for police officers applying for warrants."
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