Kim Gardner's Contempt of Court Charges and Judicial Turmoil in St. Louis

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's office has faced criticism for missing hearings and deadlines, dropping and re-filing cases, and failing to perform basic public safety functions. Gardner blames her staff for failures and says she cannot be held responsible for their mistakes because the law requires her actions to be intentional. However, her office is running out of prosecutors, and her arguments highlight her failure of leadership. Gardner's office struggles to get cases to trial, and then too often drops them on the eve of trial, only to refile them the next day.