The Supreme Court of Missouri approved a disciplinary panel’s recommendation that St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner be reprimanded for violating the Rules of Professional Conduct.
“Fee ordered pursuant to rule 5.19(h) in the amount of $750 payable to the Clerk of this court to the credit of the Advisory Committee,” wrote Chief Justice Paul Wilson in the Aug. 30 order. “Costs taxed to [Gardner].”
The Missouri Disciplinary Counsel disciplined Gardner for allegedly enabling former FBI agent William Don Tisaby who admitted to evidence tampering in his investigation of former Republican Gov. Eric Greitens. Tisaby had been appointed by Gardner, a Democrat.
When Tisaby gave false statements during a deposition, Gardner was accused of not correcting his errors.
"It's hard for me to justify only a public reprimand for a person who has displayed, if not intentional disregard for the law, then at least extreme negligence in the way she handles her office," said attorney Mark McCloskey. "It seems like a reprimand is way too light for the proportion of damage that she has done and continues to do."
Gardner prosecuted McCloskey and his wife Patricia two years ago when they brandished an assault rifle and a semi-automatic pistol in front of their St. Louis home while George Floyd demonstrators marched towards former Mayor Lyda Krewson’s nearby home.
They were arrested and charged with misdemeanors, defined as crimes of moral turpitude. On Feb. 8, the Missouri Supreme Court issued an order indefinitely suspending the couple’s law permits.
"There were 14 members of Congress who wrote a letter to then-U.S. attorney general Bill Barr saying that Kim Gardner should be investigated for the violation of my civil rights for prosecuting me but I got sanctioned when she, after a seemingly endless stream of 72 different offenses that were listed against her from the bar association could only get a reprimand seems grossly unfair to me," McCloskey told the St. Louis Record.
The disciplinary panel found that the Rules of Professional Conduct that Gardner violated are Rule 4-3.3(a), 4-4.3(a), and 4-4.3(d).
Under the Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 4-3.3(a) requires that lawyers avoid behavior that undermines the judicial process, Rule 4-4.3(a) involves duties to opposing parties and counsel, and Rule 4-4.3(d) prohibits attorneys from providing legal advice to an unrepresented party.
"We get suspension probated for doing no more than defending ourselves on our front porch against an angry mob and you've got Kim Gardner who suborns perjury, fails to do discovery and the things that she's alleged to have done in connection with the Greitens investigation just pale in comparison to the gross incompetence that her office displays on a day to day basis," McCloskey said.
The levels of sanction that the Missouri Supreme Court can impose upon a lawyer include reprimand, suspension, and disbarment.
"Suspension means that your right to practice law is suspended and if you complete the terms of your suspension, then you can ask to be reinstated," McCloskey said. "Disbarment means you've lost your license."
Missouri Supreme Court Judge Robin Ransom, who was recently appointed by Gov. Mike Parson, did not participate in the determination that Gardner would be reprimanded and not suspended or disbarred.
"A reprimand might be an embarrassment to Kim Gardner but in the city of St. Louis and the environment in which she runs for election, I suspect it won't make any difference whatsoever," McCloskey added. "I suspect that she could be disbarred or even dead and still get reelected. The city of St. Louis is an amazing place. How she could win reelection after what she did in her first term is beyond my understanding."