ST. LOUIS–Describing Kim Gardner’s St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office as a “rudderless ship of chaos,” a judge moved forward Thursday with contempt proceedings that could lead to jail time or a fine or both for Gardner and an assistant prosecuting attorney after that attorney failed to appear for a trial, and a follow-up hearing earlier this month. 

The attorney, Chris Desilets, did not appear in court on April 10 for what was supposed to be the start of a trial on assault and armed criminal action charges against Steven Vincent, accused in a 2020 shooting that injured an 11-year-old.

Court records said Desilets, according to another assistant circuit attorney in court that day, was dealing with a medical issue related to a knee injury. Desilets later failed to appear at an April 24 hearing on the same case before Circuit Judge Michael Noble.

In her own court filing ahead of the hearing to show cause why she and her office should not be held in contempt, Gardner, through her legal counsel apologized for the inconvenience and argued Desilets had handled  “all aspects of the case, including the April 10 trial setting and April 24 status conference, in an ethical and appropriate manner." But the filing said Desilets didn't notify the Circuit Attorney's Office of any issues related to appearing in court for those hearings, and did not ask anyone to appear on his or the office's behalf.

After a brief hearing Thursday, Noble ruled that there was “requisite conduct and intent which could support a finding of intentional disregard for the judicial process”  on the part of both Gardner and Desilets.

“The Circuit Attorney's Office appears to be a rudderless ship of chaos. Ms. Gardner is the Circuit Attorney and it is her job to manage the caseload of each staff member. Mr. Desilets has approximately 104 felony cases. Any prudent practitioner would expect such a caseload to create countless irreconcilable conflicts,” Noble wrote in his order. “It does not appear she has made any reasonable efforts to prevent the resulting chaos. It appears that Ms. Gardner has complete indifference and a conscious disregard for the judicial process,” he said.

The court will appoint a special prosecutor for the case, which is set for a May 30 hearing.

Thursday’s hearing was different from one held Monday, where Gardner and her office avoided being held in contempt of court over the department’s failure to have a prosecutor show up for the first day of a scheduled murder trial last week.

In that case, Circuit Judge Scott Millikan said while “it’s Ms. Gardner’s responsibility” for attorneys in her office to do what they’re supposed to be doing while they’re employed by her office, he acknowledged the high bar when it comes to establishing a criminal level of intent and that the actions did not appear to be deliberate.

Quo Warranto update

Thursday’s hearing is taking place as Gardner and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey wait for an appellate judge to rule whether a quo warranto lawsuit seeking Gardner’s removal should continue.

The state has argued that Gardner has “failed to appropriately fill vacancies and to staff her office to comply with her prosecutorial and administrative duties” in a way that “has created a toxic and dysfunctional work environment and unmanageable workloads,” among other allegations.

While she’s been accused of blaming her subordinates, Gardner said in a Tuesday court filing seeking to dismiss the suit that  it was Bailey who was alleging staff failures and “neglectful actions,” which she denies.

“Mr. Bailey’s notion that stating allegations that an assistant prosecutor failed in a duty automatically means the Circuit Attorney herself has committed a willful violation of a duty (i.e., intentionally committed acts of corrupt misconduct) or willful neglect a duty (i.e., intentionally failed to act, contrary to a known duty) has no support in the law of Missouri,” the brief said, adding Mr. Bailey has not alleged Ms. Gardner ratified or directed any of the subordinates’ conduct he alleges.

Hon. John Paul Torbitzky, an appellate court judge hearing the matter after all of the judges in the 22nd Circuit recused themselves over the potential conflict of interest, had said he expected to rule on the motion to dismiss soon after receiving Gardner’s filing.

A trial is tentatively scheduled for September.

State legislation

Wednesday night, the Missouri House sent the Senate a second bill that would let the Governor name a special prosecutor for cases involving violent crime in St. Louis. The measure is part of an omnibus public safety bill that had already passed the Senate. It also includes an amendment that would bar someone removed from office via quo warranto from seeking the office again.

Gardner has already announced her intent to seek re-election in 2024. 

The bill returns to the Senate, which has yet to consider a previous House Bill that also included a special prosecutor provision. The last day of the regular legislative session is May 12.