A hearing is underway Tuesday afternoon for pre-trial motions in Attorney General Andrew Bailey's efforts to remove Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner from office.
KMOX's Kevin Killeen reports from the courtroom that Gardner's attorneys say the case should be dismissed because there's no evidence that she wilfully neglected her duties as Circuit Attorney. They say there is some evidence that her staff made mistakes, but under the quo warranto statute being used against her, that doesn't mean that she should be the one to go.
The Attorney General's staff argue that the duties of Gardner's office are her duties, and that her staff's mistakes are her mistakes. They say that her repeated pattern of problems signals a neglect of her duties.
Bailey told KMOX on Monday that his hopes for the motions are to set a trial date, saying it can't go on past summer.
"We need clarity for the people of the City of St. Louis and for the entire region," Bailey said. "Honestly, this is the state of Missouri against Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner for her unlawful refusal to do her job."
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