The
Missouri
Supreme Court appointed a special judge to adjudicate a legal action by the state’s Republican attorney general to remove St. Louis circuit attorney
Kim Gardner
(D) from her post over alleged negligence of her duties in office.
Eastern District of Missouri Court of Appeals Judge John Torbitzky was
named
on Friday as a special judge in the case after state Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a writ of quo warranto against Gardner, which is the legal action that allows him to remove a prosecutor under state law.
Bailey alleges that Gardner was negligent in her handling of a case surrounding Daniel Riley, a 21-year-old who was out on bail after violating his bond multiple times. Riley allegedly struck a teenage athlete in his vehicle earlier this month, resulting in brutal injuries requiring the amputation of both of her legs.
The Republican attorney general contends Gardner is responsible for Riley’s release on bond, but Gardner denied such claims on Thursday and said she pushed for a judge presiding over the defendant to revoke Riley’s bond.
Bailey’s petition initially prompted a wave of St. Louis circuit judges to recuse themselves from the legal dispute, citing conflicts preventing them from adjudicating the matter.
“An actual conflict exists for each judge. Further, there is an appearance of impropriety for each judge. Therefore, 22nd circuit hereby recuses itself,” presiding Judge Elizabeth Hogan said in a court order Thursday night.
Bailey said the number of judges who said they couldn’t consider the writ of quo warranto was “significant” because those judges now serve as possible witnesses against Gardner.
“[T]hese judges are potential witnesses for my case, and who better to testify to willful neglect than judges who adjudicate claims of willful neglect?” Bailey
told
Fox News.
When questioned Thursday by a reporter about why there isn’t a record of her office asking a judge to revoke Riley’s bond, Gardner said she made the request “orally.”
Bailey countered that her request does not appear in the transcript of any hearing over Riley’s case.
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Gardner will continue her duties for now. It’s possible that a judge could remove Gardner from her position while proceedings play out, Bailey said, adding, “We are hopeful that a judge will remove her immediately … and then she can have her day in court after that,” Bailey said.
She
said Wednesday
she is sending her “personal deepest sympathy” to the victim, Janae Edmonson, following the brutal injuries she sustained but contended Bailey’s push for her ouster was a “political stunt.”
