Missouri Senate Republicans File a Remonstrance Regarding Kim Gardner

Today State Senator Nick Schroer filed a remonstrance regarding Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner.  This remonstrance was co-sponsored by every other Republican member of the State Senate.  Below you will see the signatures of every Senate Republican member, and the full text of the remonstrance.

Whereas, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner assumed
office on January 6, 2017; and
Whereas, since Gardner took office, the Circuit
Attorney’s office has experienced a turnover rate of more
than 100% in staff; and
Whereas, over 65 assistant circuit attorneys with a
combined experience of over 460 years have left the Circuit
Attorney’s office under Gardner, as reported by the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch in September 2019; and
Whereas, Kim Gardner’s office charges defendants under
direct complaint and then uses the grand jury process to
delay the preliminary hearing, with an average wait time of
344 days as of March 2021; and
Whereas, the Missouri Supreme Court changed the rules
on preliminary hearings effective March 1, 2021, so that
“courts must hold preliminary hearings within 30 days of
felony complaints being filed if a defendant is in jail, and
within 60 days if not”, and Kim Gardner has continued to use
the grand jury process to circumvent the Supreme Court’s
attempt at reform; and
Whereas, the Missouri Chief Disciplinary Counsel found
probable cause that, during the prosecution of former
Governor Eric Greitens, Gardner committed professional
misconduct and she was later fined by the Missouri Supreme
Court for this offense; and
Whereas, in 2019, Gardner admitted to repeated campaign
finance violations dating back to her time as a Missouri
state legislator, which included using campaign donations to
pay for a private apartment and she later reached a
settlement with the Missouri Ethics Commission to pay a fine
of $6,314 in lieu of a $63,009 fine; and

Whereas, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner was

removed from prosecuting two Missouri citizens after a
circuit court judge and the Missouri Eastern District Court
of Appeals both ruled that she used her role in the case to
raise money for her 2020 campaign; and
Whereas, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner filed a
lawsuit against the St. Louis Police Officers’ Association,
alleging that the Association violated the federal Ku Klux
Klan Act of 1871, and such lawsuit was dismissed by a
federal judge who wrote that Gardner’s lawsuit “can be
described as a conglomeration of unrelated claims and
conclusion statements supported by very few facts, which do
not plead any recognizable cause of action”; and
Whereas, in 2019, Gardner’s office prosecuted just
1,641 of the 7,045 felony charges sought by the St. Louis
Police Department; and
Whereas, according to one study, crime in the City of
St. Louis has caused city residents nearly $2.8 billion
dollars or $9,334 dollars per citizen, the highest in the
nation; and
Whereas, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner
continued to demonstrate her inability to run her office
when three St. Louis murder cases were dismissed in one week
starting on July 20, 2021, when the Circuit Attorney’s
office dropped the case against a man who was on trial for
murder, and again when the Circuit Attorney’s office dropped
the case against a man who was accused of killing his
alleged accomplice during a 2018 break-in, and again when
the Circuit Attorney’s office dropped the case against a
third individual charged with a 2020 murder; and
Whereas, on July 16, 2021, charges in a murder case
were dropped due to the prosecutor not showing up to
multiple hearings in the case, and the judge in the case
stated that Gardner’s office “essentially abandoned its duty
to prosecute those it charges with crimes”; and
Whereas, in 2020, Gardner oversaw a fifty-year-high
murder rate of 87 murders per 100,000 residents; and
Whereas, in 2020, St. Louis was ranked to be the No. 1
most dangerous place to live for offenses regarding rape,
murder, non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and
aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and, according to an
analysis of the FBI reported crime data, the chances of
becoming a victim of one of these crimes in St. Louis is one
in fifty; and
Whereas, Ms. Janae Edmondson, age 17, was in St. Louis
for a volleyball tournament and her and her family were
walking back to their hotel in downtown St. Louis when she
suffered severe injuries after a 21 year old driver, who had
his driver’s license revoked was out on bond for a 2020
robbery, failed to yield and collided with another vehicle.
Court officials were unaware that the driver had violated
his bond at least fifty times because the Circuit Attorney’s
office did not file a motion to revoke the bond; and
Whereas, Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner has been
criticized by a number of fellow St. Louis City elected
officials, including elected Democrat Mayor Tishaura O.
Jones who stated that “She really needs to do some soul-
searching as to whether she wants to continue as circuit
attorney because she’s lost the trust of the people”,
Democrat Alderman Mike Gras who stated “the dysfunction
cannot continue. For the good of our city, I am calling on
Circuit Attorney Gardner to resign”, Democrat Alderman Joe
Vollmer who stated “I can’t see how she can defend herself.
This is a calamity. If she cared about the City of St.
Louis, she would resign. There’s no ownership. I can’t
believe she’s in office, but she’s been elected”, along with

multiple additional statements from members of her own
political party calling for Circuit Attorney Kimberly
Gardner to resign; and
Whereas, business leaders in St. Louis have called the
“failures” of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M.
Gardner’s office “unforgivable” after the incident,
highlighting the lingering issues that have gone unaddressed
for far too long:
Now Therefore Be It Resolved that the members of the
Missouri Senate, One Hundred and Second General Assembly,
First Regular Session, hereby remonstrate against the St.
Louis City Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner for her blatant
failure to uphold her oath of office in honoring the
Constitutional rights of both Missouri residents and
visitors to the City of St. Louis; and
Be It Further Resolved that the Missouri Senate hereby
expresses its deep concern regarding the loss of trust in
the Circuit Attorney’s Office under Kimberly Gardner’s
“leadership”; and
Be It Further Resolved that the Missouri Senate calls
for the Missouri Chief Disciplinary Counsel to thoroughly
investigate the allegations of professional misconduct
committed by Kimberly Gardner while in the office of the
Circuit Attorney;
Be It Further Resolved that the Missouri Senate
condemns the continued misuse of the office of the Circuit
Attorney under Kimberly Gardner’s leadership for political
gain; and
Be It Further Resolved that the Missouri Senate hereby
strongly recommends that Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner
resign her position immediately; and
Be it further resolved, that the Senate urges the
Circuit Attorney’s office to enforce the law and take swift

and appropriate action to prevent incidents like the one
that severely injured Janae Edmondson from happening again;
and
Be it further resolved, that the Missouri Senate is
deeply concerned for the victims of crime and calls for all
stakeholders to come together and develop a regional
strategy to reduce crime and strengthen public safety; and
Be It Further Resolved that the Secretary of the Senate
be instructed to send a copy of this remonstrance to the
Governor, to each member of the St. Louis City Board of
Aldermen and to the office of St. Louis Circuit Attorney
Kimberly Gardner.