Kim Gardner has resigned and Governor Parson has the responsibility of selecting someone to run the Circuit Attorney’s Office (CAO) until the next election. Rebuilding the CAO is not going to be an easy job. Judge Moriarty told me that seeing the present state of the CAO is like looking at a photo of the aftermath of a destructive earthquake. You can only imagine how difficult it will be to rebuild.
While I am happy the earthquake (Kim Gardner) is over, the hard work of rebuilding is before us. That rebuilding begins with the appointment of a new Circuit Attorney. Post-Dispatch gossip columnist Joe Holleman has provided lists (group 1 and group 2) of persons that he’s heard are being talked about as Gardner’s replacement. The majority on his lists aren’t serious contenders. Presently, there seems to be a very strong current favoring Judge Noble.
The governor — in a politically savvy attempt to avoid claims of behind-closed-door deal-making (even though we all know that’s precisely how this will be done) — has asked for Circuit Attorney wannabes to directly apply. They had until noon today (5/15) to provide their application.
As Gardner is out on June 1st, I expect the governor to make a selection fairly quickly — perhaps as early as by the end of this week. I know that the governor has met with the mayor and with Presiding Judge Hogan to get their input.
Meanwhile, Chris Hinkley, who runs the city warrant office (and has done an excellent job of alienating police officers) and is on Gardner’s executive staff, has resigned from the CAO. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, fresh from being deposed in a sexual harassment complaint filed against him (I’m sure the area’s so-called journalists are already on this one — that’s sarcasm btw as local journalists for the most part seem oblivious to what goes on in the courthouses), offered Hinkley a job at the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in a position specifically created for him (after Wesley and Kim had their recent make-up). He will be presenting cases to the grand jury there. Based on his past performance in the city, that should be interesting.
One of the things that hasn’t been mentioned in all the talk of recent offers to help the CAO prosecute cases is that Missouri statutes only authorize the CAO to have a maximum of seven special assistant prosecuting attorneys (lawyers who don’t work exclusively for the CAO). Since the CAO already has two “specials” (Sean O’Hagan and Rufus Tate), that means they can only hire five more. So loads of lawyers from other prosecuting attorney offices and/or private law firms can’t just come in and help. The CAO is going to have to fix itself.