We're here to discuss recent developments,
developments, the legal proceedg
to remove the Circuit Attorney,
Kim Gardner in the City of Saint Louis.
Several things have happened in recent days
that we wanted to provide an update on.
The court has issued several or.
Additionally,
we've uncovered new pieces of evidence
indicating that the Circuit Atty
is taking nursing classes insted
of fulfilling her additional du.
I'm going to give an
overview of the case where
it stands now. Judge Corrigan
will provide an update on the
court's recent rulings and then
I will briefly discuss the new
allegations to take a few quest.
In February, after calling on
the Circuit attorney to resign,
and after her refusal to do so,
we initiated the legal proceedio
remove her from office was necessary to
do so to protect the public,
to restore the rule of law,
and to find justice for victims.
After several weeks,
numerous additional witnesses
had contacted my office.
With additional evidence establishing
her unlawful refusal to do her ,
my office filed a 121 page amend
petition and the Circuit attorny
asked the court to dismiss the .
After 60 days, 5 pleadings,
4 meetings with her attorneys,
and a hearing on the matter,
the circuit attorney decided she
wanted a different judge to pre.
This tactic was an unnecessary delay,
but we remain committed.
To moving this case forward,
yesterday the court issued several orders.
I'd like to turn the microphoner
to Judge Bill Corrigan, Deputy Attorney
General for the State of Missou,
who's leading the litigation effort in
this matter to discuss these or.
Good evening.
As you all know, yesterday Judge
John Trabisky issued an order
very favorable to our case.
Judge Trobisky denied the motion
to dismiss filed by the Circuit
attorney and allowed all of our
primary claims to proceed. And
we were delighted and pleased
with Judge Trobisky's ruling and
I'd like to quote part of it.
Because in essence, it summarizs
what we're arguing in this case.
We we, the same Missouri,
provide numerous instances in
which the Circuit attorney
has failed to meet a duty,
and that we, the State of Misso,
assert that these examples demonstrate
a pattern and practice of her
willful failure to act contraryo
a known duty among those duties.
Are her duty to prosecute cases,
make charging decisions,
keep victims informed,
and ensure defendants and
victims receive a speedy trial.
Now that we are armed with
Judge Trebisky's decision,
we look forward to prosecuting our case,
and we look forward to the
trial in late September.
In addition to the order denyine
Circuit Attorney's motion to dismiss,
as many of you also know,
Judge Trubisky issued a very favorable
order with respect to our subpoa
directed to the Circuit Attorney's Office.
And in that subpoena,
we asked for 59 categories of documents.
Judge Trubisky.
Denied their motion to quash our
ability to get those documents
and found that we are entitled o
obtain 90% of what we've asked .
And what we've asked for includes all
communications to and from vict.
In our the cases we've alleged
on the petition,
it includes information
about the warrants backlog,
the staffing shortages, the caseloads.
And other categories of informa,
we look forward to getting that
information after two months of delays
and the judge ordered them to produce
those documents within the next 30 days.
Finally,
the first deposition will
take place tomorrow.
We're scheduled to take the deposition of the
city Budget Director tomorrow at 10:00 AM.
We look forward to prosecuting our case.
Thank you.
Thank you, Judge Corrigan.
Clearly this case has crossed a
threshold and is moving forward.
A new judge either has been or
will be assigned shortly and we
will continue to move towards te
September 25th trial date to ree
the Circuit Attorney discovery.
As to her files will be turned r
to the next 30 days pursuant to
the court's order and we'll begn
opposing the witnesses we've asd
for over the past several weeks.
My office has also received information.
Indicating that the SERVE attorney was
participating in nurses class nursing
classes at Saint Louis Universi.
In response to this information,
and after discovering that onlie
records confirmed the informati,
my office issued a series
of subpoenas to the school.
We have demanded documents relad
to her class schedule related to
the hours and participation in s
out any hour she has worked at e
school surveillance camera foot.
And relevant communications and documents
between the student and the sta.
Section 56.445 of the Revised Statutes
of Missouri require that the Cit
Attorney devote her full time and energy
to the discharge of her official duties.
Obtaining a nursing degree is
not one of her official duties.
Prosecuting criminals is.
Yet she has consistently
failed to charge new cases,
inform and confer with victims,
and move the cases she does
charge to disposition.
Most recently,
she has failed to appear for a
murder trial and an assault tri,
resulting in two different judgs
issuing show cause orders requig
her to explain why those judges should
not hold her in contempt of court for
failing to show up for scheduled trials.
At least one of those orders appears to
be proceeding to a hearing on the matter.
Those are legal proceedings
independent of my removal proceeding,
but again they demonstrate A consistent
pattern of behavior of her reful
to discharge her official dutie.
The court has opined that her oe
appears on the brink of collaps,
and within the past two weeks,
several more of her assistants have quit
and walked away from the dysfunctional
office, the court has opined.
That her office is a rudderless
ship of chaos.
Every minute she remains in offe
puts lives and property in St.
Louis at risk.
The criminal justice system
in the city of St.
Louis has ceased to function,
and people are suffering from hr
unlawful refusal to do her job.
We know that she was not
fulfilling her official duties.
Now it appears she is further violating
the law and the statute by pursg
other duties outside of those permitted
by statute or authorized under the law.
If the circuit attorney wants to be a nurse,
she needs to cease pretending
to be a prosecuting attorney.
It's time for the circuit attory
to go for the rule of law and
justice for victims to prevail.
With that, I'll take a few questions.
So
it's 5:00 o'clock for?
Did you just call for her to re?
I renew my call for her to resign that
it's been a consistent call since February
when we commenced this proceeding. You
know that you expect her to have
inside information suggesting tt
she's going to resign tomorrow.
I'm telling you that this just a
lot worse for her because this case is
proceeding pursuant to the judge's order.
She's now going to be required
to turn over discovery.
She's got two other judges thate
threatening to hold her in cont.
Her staff is fleeing,
and we now have additional evide
that she's willfully violating
the statute by not pursuing her
official duties and pursuing.
Other things
There are rumors circulating
around Jefferson City and St.
Louis about potential resignati,
and I'm here to tell you we will
pursue this case unless and until such
time as she resigns and commitso
not running for office in the future.
She's breaking the law by
willfully refusing to discharge
her official obligations.
Going to nursing school is not
one of her official obligations,
and she's missing court and faig
to do discharge her official du,
at least in part because
she's doing other things.
It depends on the statutes goveg
the conduct of those official offices
and whether or not they're performing
their statutory obligations. Hae
you thought about pursuing poor
warrants of proceedings against
the Iron County Sheriff who's
been charged with kidnapping?
Yes, that matters. Under review.
What does it say about
her office that she constantly
doesn't have anybody leave her office
on pretty much a weekly basis? w
what's unsurprising given that s
blamed her own assistance for hr
failures and at the end of the ,
section 56.450 requires that shs
responsible for the conduct of l
criminal cases in the city of St. Louis.
Yeah, absolutely.
Our 121 page a minute petition
speaks for itself. That's.
Ample facts and evidence that ss
unlawfully refusing to do her j.
And the judge found there was eh
there to proceed to a hearing.
And that's exactly what we're going to do.
Statute gives the presiding jude
the ability to appoint prosecutg
an attorney until such time as
the governor would select someoe
to fill out the remainder of the
unexpired portion of the term.
I know that there are other regl
leaders that would be would be y
to assist and certainly the stae
has resources ready to deploy ie
fight against violent crime as .
I'm sorry. That's not,
it's not my role to pick a replacement.
My role is to see the justices
done and that she's removed.
Well, 500 businesses have left since 2019,
at least in part because of cri.
We know that there are victims
that are not receiving justice,
that show up to court for a tril
date that's been scheduled for months,
and then she refuses to appear
and refuses to send assistance o
appear to prosecute those cases.
So people are suffering.
She's been offered assistance numerous
times from numerous different entities.
My office has not offered assistance.
I know she was offered assistane
previously under previous administrations.
Between the time that I took office and we
initiated the corps warranto proceeding.
There was no exchange about
taking over cases in the city
of Saint Louis, in other words.
There was not an opportunity too
so deposition tomorrow, you said
city Budget Office and after
that the comptroller's office deposition
scheduled for May 11 and that's
the next and only other depositn
scheduled at this point in time.
Thank you all.