Gov. Parson to announce Kim Gardner's replacement Friday
Two judges and a civil litigation attorney are among the finalists for the job, according to sources.
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ST. LOUIS — Missouri Governor Mike Parson will announce who he will appoint to replace Kim Gardner during a press conference outside the Circuit Attorney’s Office at 11 a.m. Friday.
Sources familiar with the process tell 5 On Your Side the finalists in the running to replace Gardner include two judges from the 22nd Judicial Circuit, Paula Bryant and Michael Noble along with civil attorney and partner in the Dowd Bennet law firm Gabe Gore.
Parson has invited U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy, 22nd Judicial Circuit Presiding Judge Elizabeth Hogan, and St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts to the press conference. Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten and Missouri State Highway Patrol Colonel Eric Olson are also expected to attend.
Whoever comes into the office is expected to remain until next year's election.
And there is already a mountain of work waiting for them. Dozens of trials are assigned to prosecutors who no longer work in the office and haven't for months.
The St. Louis Police Department says there are 3,860 cases that officers have sent to the Circuit Attorney's Office going back at least two years on which prosecutors have not made a decision. The cases are almost exclusively misdemeanors and non-violent felonies.
Here is some additional information about the three finalists:
Gabe Gore
Gore is a member of the Dowd Bennett law firm, which describes him as “an experienced trial lawyer who concentrates on complex civil litigation and white-collar defense. He has tried over twenty cases, including cases involving breach of contract, product liability, misappropriation of trade secrets, securities fraud, breach of trust, employment and property damage claims. His clients include Fortune 500 corporations, corporate executives and high-ranking government officials.”
Gore was one of 18 people who submitted applications for the appointment to the governor’s office after Kim Gardner announced she would be resigning June 1. Instead, she resigned unexpectedly Tuesday.
Parson’s senior staff then interviewed five candidates and sent three finalists to Parson.
Before joining Dowd Bennett, Gore clerked for Eastern Circuit Court of Appeals Judge John Gibson; served as an assistant U.S. Attorney, as an assistant special counsel for the Waco investigation and as an associate at Williams & Connolly law firm and a partner at Bryan Cave law firm.
Gore has been tapped by the governor’s office for an appointment in the past. Following the unrest in Ferguson, then Gov. Jay Nixon appointed him to serve on the Ferguson Commission.
He currently serves on the Missouri State University Board of Governors and the Forest Park Forever Board. He was also a founding board member of KIPP St. Louis Public Charter Schools.
In 2020, the St. Louis Business Journal profiled Gore.
"As a member of the Ferguson Commission, formed to study and make recommendations resolving issues surrounding the events that occurred in Ferguson in 2014, he chaired the criminal justice subcommittee that recommended municipal court reform. Supported by the Missouri Supreme Court, the reforms helped banish laws that unfairly fined and jailed hundreds of area residents on traffic offenses while generating millions of dollars in revenue for municipalities.
The subcommittee also recommended the state appoint a special prosecutor in all police-involved shootings, a topic often raised in local political campaigns since that time," according to the story.
Judge Michael Noble
Just weeks ago, Noble ordered indirect criminal contempt proceedings to move ahead against Gardner and former Assistant Circuit Attorney Chris Desilets after Desilets missed an April 10 trial and a subsequent hearing on the matter.
Gardner did not attend the hearing, and Noble grilled Assistant Circuit Attorney Rob Huq about her whereabouts and facts about the case in question, which he could not answer.
"Ms. Gardner is the circuit attorney and it is her duty is to manage the caseload of each staff member,” Noble said during the hearing. “Mr. Desilets has approximately 104 felony cases. Any prudent practitioner would expect such a caseload to create countless irreconcilable conflicts.
“It does not appear she has made any reasonable efforts to prevent the resulting chaos. It appears that Ms. Gardner has complete indifference and a conscious disregard for the judicial process.”
A special prosecutor was appointed to oversee the indirect criminal contempt case, but that prosecutor filed a motion Wednesday to dismiss the charges, stating, “it no longer serves the interest of justice to continue with this matter as the defendant is no longer employed as the Circuit Attorney.”
Noble granted the motion, dismissing the case without prejudice – meaning it could be filed again.
Noble is a St. Louis University School of Law and West Point graduate. He obtained a patent law license degree from St. Louis University.
He also served as a public defender and a drug court commissioner. Former Missouri Governor Jay Nixon appointed him to the bench in 2013.
A “Beat Navy” sign sits next to Noble’s nameplate on his bench, and a picture of the Navy’s football team about to score against the Army adorns the wall behind him.
He also graduated from St. Louis University High School.
Judge Paula Bryant
Activists who have supported Gardner in the past are calling the governor’s office to pick Bryant as the interim circuit attorney.
Local defense attorney Jerryl Christmas tells 5 On Your Side Parson should pick Bryant because she has experience as a prosecutor.
“We must have someone the community can trust and be able to hit the ground running,” Christmas said.
Former Governor Jay Nixon appointed Bryant to the 22nd Judicial Circuit in 2016.
She had previously served as an associate circuit judge.
During her time in the St. Louis Circuit, she has been assigned to family, criminal, minor civil and general trial matters.
She went to the University of Missouri-St. Louis for her bachelor’s degree, and to Saint Louis University School of Law for her law degree.
She is a member of the State Judicial Records Committee and has developed court programs, including a GPS pre-trial monitoring program.
Source: KSDK.com
