ST. LOUIS — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Monday published several recommendations to lawmakers in a report that summarized his investigation into the ºüÀêÊÓƵ prosecutor’s office and his removal lawsuit against former circuit attorney Kimberly M. Gardner.
The report urged officials in the upcoming 2024 legislative session to expand laws requiring prosecutor’s offices to keep crime victims informed about the progress of cases; make it faster for investigators to obtain evidence during removal lawsuits; and bar elected officials from running again if they are removed or resign from office during “quo warranto†lawsuits that aim to remove them from office.
Bailey’s findings stem from a monthslong investigation related to the quo warranto suit he filed against Gardner in February amid widespread calls for her removal. During the three months the case was pending, Gardner did not turn over any documents Bailey subpoenaed as part of the investigation.
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Instead, Bailey said in an interview Tuesday, she resigned hours before she would’ve been forced to provide the documents and sit for a taped deposition.
“The day of reckoning was staring her in the face, and she hit the eject button,†he said.
In addition to his legislative recommendations, Bailey’s report highlights several key points in Gardner’s tenure, including the dismissal of thousands of cases, her pursuit of an advanced nursing degree while holding office — an effort he called “inexcusable†— and her partnership with a nonprofit called the Vera Institute of Justice that seeks to reduce incarceration, arguing it created an “undue,†negative influence on her policies.
Gardner did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Gardner took office in 2017 and was re-elected in 2020 for a second term. Throughout that time, her office consistently lost staff despite receiving a $1.5 million budgetary bump from a new city tax in 2019. Former staffers complained to the Post-Dispatch and interviews with the attorney general’s office about a toxic work environment and untenable workloads.
Then, in February, a 17-year-old volleyball player from Tennessee was walking downtown with her parents when there was a crash. She was pinned between two vehicles. Both of her legs were amputated. The man accused of causing the crash, Daniel Riley, had been out of jail on a pending robbery case despite violating the conditions of his bond dozens of times.
Elected officials and residents called for Gardner to step down. Bailey filed his lawsuit arguing she had neglected her duties. Multiple judges filed to hold her and her attorneys in contempt for not showing up for hearings.
Bailey’s office sought thousands of pages of documents and depositions with city officials, members of the circuit attorney’s office and Gardner herself. Several of those interviews were completed, and thousands of records were turned over, Monday’s report says.
Among the most common criticisms of Gardner’s office was that it failed to keep crime victims apprised when there were developments in suspects’ cases. Missouri’s Victim Rights Act does not require families to be notified about the progress of appeals, which popped up for Gardner’s office earlier this year in the case of Lamont Campbell, whose murder conviction was overturned.
The family of the victim, Lenny J. Gregory III, was not informed about the appeal and said they were “blindsided†when Campbell was released from prison weeks later.
Bailey is seeking to expand that law so prosecutors must inform families in such cases.
As part of the quo warranto, Bailey’s office planned to call experienced prosecutors and defense attorneys to testify about her dereliction of duty and present evidence that she was taking nursing classes while she was supposed to be acting as prosecutor, the report says.
The report notes that Gardner enrolled in ºüÀêÊÓƵ University’s nursing school on Aug. 25, 2021, and was taking classes seeking a master’s degree. During that time, she was paid roughly $281,000 in her role as circuit attorney.
Bailey dismissed his quo warranto lawsuit on May 17, one day after Gardner resigned, but he continued with the investigation.
Bailey, who is running for reelection in 2024, said Tuesday he published the report to summarize his findings and recommend safeguards against a tenure like Gardner’s in the future.
And his office is not finished seeking information, Bailey said — it will continue to pursue documents outlined in the subpoena and wants more information about Gardner’s work on a nursing degree.
“We need to hold her individually accountable,†Bailey said.