Judge grants Missouri AG more time to amend petition against Kim Gardner

ST. LOUIS – A judge has granted the Missouri Attorney General more time to amend his petition against St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner.

On Feb. 23, Missouri AG Andrew Bailey filed a writ of quo warranto against Kim Gardner, accusing her of neglecting her duties as circuit attorney. It comes in an effort to remove her from office.

According to court records, Bailey’s office until March 21 to amend its quo warranto, during which he could outline more allegations of wrongdoing linked to Gardner.

John Torbitzky, the special judge assigned to the case, would also grant Gardner 10 days to respond to new allegations. That deadline would be March 31.


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In a motion filed Wednesday, Bailey asked the judge for more time to present new evidence against Gardner. He also requested a June trial date.  

Bailey’s new filing comes after Gardner barely met a deadline to file her response to Bailey’s original motion to have her removed as circuit attorney. Gardner called the Missouri Attorney General’s ongoing effort to oust her from office a “gross power grab” in legal filings and has maintained her office, despite political pushback to resign.

Outrage against Gardner stems from an incident last month, in which an out-of-town teenager suffered a life-changing injury due to a driver who was out on bond awaiting trial for armed robbery.

Janae Edmondson, 17, was visiting St. Louis with her family for a volleyball tournament. The family was walking in downtown St. Louis on Feb. 18 when a speeding driver failed to yield and collided with another vehicle. That second vehicle struck Edmondson, who has had both of her legs amputated since the crash.

The man accused in the crash, 21-year-old Daniel Riley, was out on bond from a 2020 armed robbery case. Last August, he was given a personal recognizance bond that required him to be tracked by GPS and stay at home. Court records show he violated house arrest dozens of times leading up to the crash.

Gardner’s office contends that prosecutors asked for higher bonds several times, though judges denied such requests. She noted the most recent effort to address Riley’s bond conditions came in January 2023, though says “there was no response” upon asking the court for a hearing date over Riley’s bond.


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Gardner’s legal filing added, “Only two prosecutors ever have been ousted under these provisions, both more than 80 years ago, and both for Pendergast-era naked corruption in refusing even to investigate whole classes of cases with which they had personal involvement.”

A spokesperson with the Attorney General’s Office shared the following statement with FOX 2 earlier this week:

“We remain committed to our assertion that Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is not doing her job to protect the people of the city of St. Louis. We’re moving as expeditiously as possible to hold her accountable, restore the rule of law, and find justice for the people of St. Louis.”


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Category: General News