‘On Thursday, Judge Thomas Clark ruled that Gardner’s repeated references to the McCloskey case in fundraising emails for her re-election effort “raise the appearance of impropriety and jeopardize the defendant’s right to a fair trial.”’
A St. Louis judge has ordered Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and her entire office off of the prosecution of Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple charged with unlawful use of a weapon after they displayed a rifle and pistol as hundreds of protesters trespassed through their private neighborhood as they made their way to the home of St. Louis mayor Lyda Krewson for a demonstration.
On Thursday, Judge Thomas Clark ruled that Gardner’s repeated references to the McCloskey case in fundraising emails for her re-election effort “raise the appearance of impropriety and jeopardize the defendant’s right to a fair trial.”
“Ms. Gardner has every right to rebut criticism, but it appears unnecessary to stigmatize defendant – or even mention him – in campaign solicitations, especially when she purports to be responding to others,” he wrote. “In fact, the case law and Rules of Professional Conduct prohibit it.”
By Cam Edwards
