St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner may face a fine or even jail time after her office failed to show up for a murder trial that was supposed to begin Monday morning.
According to reports, the jury trial for Jonathan Jones, 18 — who is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action — was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., but the assistant district attorney who was assigned the case was apparently on sick leave and no one else from the office took over the case.
Jones — who was charged pursuant to a shooting that took place near the riverfront in downtown St. Louis on September 6, 2021 — was present at the appointed time along with his public defender, Cecilia Appleberry.
When no one from Gardner’s office showed up, Appleberry immediately filed a motion to dismiss the case entirely – but Judge Scott Millikan delayed the trial for one week instead, demanding a response from Gardner’s office accounting for the failure to appear.
“This conduct thwarts and defeats the authority of the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis,” Millikan wrote, calling on Gardner to either show cause as to why she should not be held in contempt — thus facing fines or even jail time — by April 24.
Gardner is scheduled to appear in another hearing on Tuesday, one in which the future of her position is before the court. Claiming that Gardner has failed to perform her job to even bare minimum standards, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has filed a writ of quo warranto to remove her from office.
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“As AG, I want to protect the people of St. Louis, and that includes protecting victims of crime and finding justice for them,” Bailey said when he announced the filing on February 22. “Instead of protecting victims, Circuit Attorney Gardner is creating them. My office will do everything in its power to restore order, and eliminate the chaos in St. Louis caused by Kim Gardner’s neglect of her office.”