ST. LOUIS — Embattled St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner will resign June 1 after a string of calls for her to step down, including efforts by Attorney General Andrew Bailey to have her removed from office.

What You Need To Know

  •  St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner will resign June 1 after months of calls for her to step down

  • Attorney General Andrew Bailey took legal steps to have her removed, alleging negligence

  • Gardner released a letter saying proposed legislation would "strip" voter's rights from electing a circuit attorney and said she "cannot be the final circuit attorney ever to be elected in St. Louis" 

  • AG Bailey commented after the news, questioning why she is waiting until June 1 to resign

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Gardner said the proposed public safety bill that she says "appears to permanently remove the right of every St. Louis voter to elect a circuit attorney" and would give the governor the power to appoint a special prosecutor played into her decision to resign. 

The measure, included as part of a larger bill that passed the House, was the subject of a filibuster in the Senate earlier this week. It would maintain the office's elected position, but strip it of authority to prosecute cases involving violent crimes, which would be in the hands of a special prosecutor.

"The proposed bill strips the right from all of us. If I can stop that from happening, I will, even if that necessitates my considering leaving the office to which you have elected me," said Gardner in a letter to her "Fellow St. Louisians" and addressed to Governor Mike Parson. 

Gardner went on to say she has experienced attacks on her reforms, judgment, integrity and more since her first day in office. She said some of the attacks "seem designed to stop the office from functioning," explaining there was an onslaught of record requests that "no office in the country could reasonable fulfill" and that there was "no sign that the onslaught would stop for as long as I am in the office."

 

Reaction

Lawmakers quickly released comments about her resignation, including Bailey who questioned the delay between Thursday's announcement and the June 1 effective date, and from Gov. Parson, who weighed in on the process of finding an interim Circuit Attorney.

Background

AG Bailey filed a petition in February trying to remove Gardner from office. He alleges her office failed to prosecute cases, that she failed to inform and confirm victims and failed to appropriately fill vacancies, leaving her staff with an “unmanageable workload.”

Gardner called the filing a “political stunt” by Bailey, who is running for election in 2024.

Bailey filed the petition after Gardner’s office was criticized for its handling of a case involving armed robbery suspect Daniel Riley who violated terms of his bond more than 50 times, and has now been accused of being behind the wheel in a car accident that left a Tennessee teenager without the use of her legs.

Gardner has blamed the judge in the case for allowing the defendant to remain free on bond, and has said the effort to have her removed goes against the will of the voters of St. Louis who have elected her twice to the post.

In early May, a judge ruled the case against Gardner can go to trial. The judge rejected a motion to dismiss the removal proceedings against Gardner, but did trim the number of charges against her from 10 down to seven. A trial date has been set for Sept. 25, 2023. 

Proceedings are also moving forward in a contempt of court case involving Gardner and one of her now former assistant attorney’s. The case involves attorney Chris Desilets who did not appear in court on April 10 for what was supposed to be the start of a trial for a 2020 shooting. Allison Schreiber Lee has been appointed the special prosecutor in the case. 

Gardner and her office avoided being held in contempt of court over a different prosecutor missing the first day of a 2021 murder trial. The assistant circuit attorney in that case has also reportedly resigned.