+1 vote
in General Factchecking by Master (5.4k points)

The headline is just stating a fact, that the "Missouri AG gives ultimatum to Dem attorney Kim Gardner following public outcry: resign or be removed."

From the article it seems like many people are finding fault with her. However, why the outcry? What did she do or not do to warrant this dissatisfaction?

1 Answer

+2 votes
by Journeyman (3.3k points)
selected by
 
Best answer

The Fox News article you have linked states that the Missouri Attorney General's decision to have the Circuit Attorney Kim Garder step down came after a suspect failed to yield and ended up crashing into and badly injuring a civilian. The AG accuses Gardner of negligence, as the suspect in question had multiple violations of his bond conditions, yet was still free and able to cause the accident. The article, however, does not go into much detail regarding Gardner's responsibilities. So, it is reasonable to not know for sure whether Gardner is really at fault.

To answer this question, additional context on this can be obtained from the Missouri AG's full statement. From the AG's government website:

"The driver of the speeding vehicle, Daniel Riley, should never have been in that car. He is a dangerous gunman who should have been in jail. In 2020, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Riley with First Degree Robbery and Armed Criminal Action for stealing a firearm from a victim at gunpoint. The Circuit Attorney dismissed and refiled that case on July 18, 2022, but not before Riley- who was out on bond- earned 54 separate violations for failing to comply with the pre-trial bond conditions. After the Circuit Attorney refiled the case, Riley earned 50 more violations. The Circuit Attorney never filed a motion to revoke Riley’s bond.

In another case covered by KSDK, a news agency based in Missouri, Gardner's office was embroiled in another controversy. Gardner's prosecutors were responsible for the prosecution of murderer Brandon Campbell, but "Gardner's prosecutors failed to appear for multiple hearings on the case," according to St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser. Also related to this case, Gardner released a statement saying "the individual in this case is (sic) custody." However, this was not true: "Gardner's office issued a revised statement at about 7 p.m. Tuesday confirming Campbell remains at large." In an interview, a sister of the victim said "Kim Gardner is a poor excuse for a prosecutor." This occurred in July, 2021.

In an article posted by the St. Louis Public Radio in March, 2021, "According to data compiled by the public defender's office, the average wait for a preliminary hearing for detainees in the City Justice Center last year was 146 days, even as the average total length of stay at the downtown jail has mushroomed to 344 days." The article imparts some blame onto Gardner for this: 

"Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has a practice that extends the wait even beyond that, Mahaffey said. Gardner’s office generally charges defendants by direct complaint. But once that ushers them into the system (and often sends them to jail, where they must wait for that hearing), Mahaffey said her office then says it’s initiating grand jury proceedings — what he calls a redundant step that chiefly serves to delay the preliminary hearing."

In summary, multiple sources blame Gardner for being negligent. There is a substantial amount of outcry about Gardner's failure to meet expectations. Due to this amount of outcry, I think it would be reasonable to say that she is doing bad enough to be fired. However, deciding how bad someone has to be at their job to get fired is ultimately a matter of opinion. While I think the average person would consider her performance to be fire-worthy, I have to rate this claim as neither true or false due to the claim itself being an opinion.

RATING: Neither true or false (Opinion)

https://ago.mo.gov/home/news/2023/02/23/attorney-general-andrew-bailey-demands-st.-louis-circuit-attorney-kim-gardner-resign-or-face-removal

https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/investigations/murder-charges-dropped-suspect-freed-kim-gardner/63-40aba7a5-5b36-410c-86bd-59ee93548b64

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2021-03-19/long-waits-for-preliminary-hearings-in-st-louis-draw-public-defenders-ire

Can't be true or false (Opinion, poem, etc.)
by Master (5.4k points)
Really appreciate the very well written and researched answer. Thanks much!

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