ST. LOUIS — The State of Missouri is dismissing its quo warranto case against Kim Gardner.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey's office filed a voluntary dismissal without prejudice of the quo warranto case seeking to remove her from office.
Gardner's legal team had filed a request for dismissal shortly after her abrupt resignation on Tuesday, arguing that the case is now moot. Bailey's team agreed at a Tuesday hearing that the case was now likely moot, saying they would likely not be opposed to the motion to dismiss.
Parson appointed his general counsel Evan Rodriguez to serve as interim circuit attorney while he worked to finish interviewing candidates for the permanent appointment.
Parson said he hoped to have an appointment by Friday.
A contempt of court case against Gardner was also dropped Tuesday following her resignation, with a special prosecuting attorney saying the case 'longer serves the interest of justice' because Gardner and her former assistant prosecutor no longer work in the circuit attorney's office.
The one-sentence filing put an end to the months-long effort to remove Gardner from office.
Gardner’s office had been under mounting pressure after contempt of court hearings, staff attorney resignations, and the handling of high-profile cases.
In one case, a 17-year-old volleyball player was critically injured in a crash caused by a suspect who was supposed to be on house arrest.
Janae Edmondson and her family were walking back to their hotel in downtown St. Louis on Feb. 28 when police said 21-year-old Daniel Riley sped down St. Charles Street, failed to brake, hit several cars and pinned Edmondson. Edmondson lost both of her legs in the crash.
The I-Team reported that Riley had violated his GPS monitoring conditions at least 90 times since he was first charged with armed criminal action and robbery in September 2020.