Prosecutor or Persecutor? Gardner Appeals for Power to Prosecute McCloskeys

 Image screenshot of public announcement by Kim Gardner, Circuit Attorney

On Sunday, 28 June, 2020, the property of a married couple of Saint Louis  lawyers was invaded by a screaming, unruly mob. Under Missouri law, the couple had a right to defend themselves and their home. From a previous article on AmmoLand:

Section 563.031 specifically allows the use of deadly force, not just showing a weapon, against people who have entered private property unlawfully. In order to be justified, the person using the force must reasonably believe such force to be necessary to defend themselves or a third person from the unlawful use of force.

(3) Such force is used against a person who unlawfully enters, remains after unlawfully entering, or attempts to unlawfully enter private property that is owned or leased by an individual, or is occupied by an individual who has been given specific authority by the property owner to occupy the property, claiming a justification of using protective force under this section.

Far left St. Louis Circuit Attorney (prosecutor) Kimberly Gardner, started demonizing the couple which had dared to defend themselves against her political allies. She threatened prosecution. She referenced the case in her political literature, using inflammatory language. 

After the McCloskeys, through their attorney, objected, she and her office were removed from the case under Missouri law.

Ordinarily, the slap on the wrist would be enough. Most prosecutors would simply allow another prosecutor to work the case.

Not Kimberly Gardner.  She used the resources of her office to claim she was the victim, so as to preserve her power to prosecute/persecute the McCloskeys. She appealed her removal from the case to the Missouri Court of appeals. The Court of appeals upheld the lower court. From washingtonxaminer.com: 

The Missouri Court of Appeals struck down Gardner's plea Wednesday, siding against her claim that she should not have been disqualified from the case by Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer in December.

The prosecutor was removed from the McCloskey case after it was determined she raised the appearance of initiating a "criminal prosecution for political purposes” following reports that she used the charges to circulate fundraising emails for her reelection bid, Circuit Judge Thomas Clark said at the time.

Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner has been embroiled in a series of controversial, political cases.

In a previous case against Gardner, the appeals court upheld a lower court ruling against her in Gardner v. Carmody.

CONCLUSION

Based on the foregoing, we affirm the trial court’s grant of judgment on the pleadings in favor of Gerard T. Carmody on Gardner’s petition in quo warranto.

Gardner prosecuted Governor Greitens in a case rife with politics. Her conduct in the case remains under investigation.

In January of 2020, Gardner sued St. Louis City for Civil Rights violations. The lawsuit was dismissed on 30 September, 2020. From wikipedia: 

The judge wrote that: wrote: “Her 32-page complaint can best be described as a conglomeration of unrelated claims and conclusory statements supported by very few facts, which do not plead any recognizable cause of action” and continued that "Gardner presents no specific material facts, circumstantial or otherwise, to show that defendants acted with each other for the purpose of depriving her – or anyone else – of a constitutional right to equal protection. Her complaint is nothing more than a compilation of personal slights – none of which rise to a legal cause of action."^[39]  Judge Ross is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. He was nominated by President Barack Obama in December 2010.

Kimberly Gardner will now appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court in an attempt to hold on to the power to prosecute the McCloskys.  From msn.com: 

The appeals court rejected Gardner's challenge on Wednesday. 

Gardner now needs the Missouri Supreme Court to reinstate her office to the case.

A spokesperson for Gardner says her office will appeal the latest decision.

Kimberly Gardner won election and has kept her office with substantial donations from far left political organizations, funded in part by George Soros. 

In 2020, Saint Louis had a record high homicide rate. Kimberly Gardner has been accused of failing to issue charges in the majority of felony arrests made by police. From stltoday.com: 

Of the 68 homicide cases police sent to the Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s office for prosecution, far fewer have actually gone to court and resulted in convictions — bolstering the message of impunity to criminals. The year started off with Hayden accusing Gardner of failing to issue charges in the majority of felony arrests made by police. Gardner sued the city and the police union, alleging a racist conspiracy against her.

State prosecutors offices have limited resources. Kimberly Gardner appears to believe the priority of her resource use should be to reclaim the power to prosecute people for political reasons rather than to preserve order and the rule of law. 

Kimberly Gardner was re-elected on 3 November, 2020 with 74% of the vote. Saint Louis City consistently votes in the upper 70's Democrat. 

©2021 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch