The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday on whether former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner should be disbarred, with the state pushing for the harshest possible penalty against a prosecutor previously reprimanded over ethics violations in her prosecution of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens. Gardner, who led the circuit attorney's office from 2017 to 2023, is accused of violating the rules of professional conduct, and her attorney argued instead for a lighter sanction.
The state of Missouri is asking for Gardner to be disbarred, according to KMOV, which reported that Gardner used $5,000 in public money to reimburse herself for personal legal expenses. Gardner's attorney countered that a reprimand would be more appropriate, and the state's high court has not indicated when it will issue its ruling.
Roots in the Greitens Prosecution
The conduct at issue traces back to Gardner's 2022 admission that she violated attorney ethics rules during her prosecution of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, according to St. Louis Public Radio. The station reported that Missouri's latest ethics charges accuse Gardner of violating professional-conduct rules in four separate ways, including alleged violations of federal law, misuse of the contingency fund, dishonesty or misrepresentation, and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.
The station's report described the reimbursement dispute differently than KMOV did, stating that Gardner used the circuit attorney's contingency fund to reimburse herself for expenses totaling a little more than $5,000, rather than the flat $5,000 figure cited elsewhere. Either way, the same core question is now before the state's highest court: whether that reimbursement, paired with the earlier ethics admission, warrants Gardner's removal from the practice of law altogether.
Gardner's Defense
Gardner's attorneys have argued that she did not commit misconduct at all, and that disciplinary counsel's claims rest on what they called a fundamental mischaracterization of her federal agreement, per the same account. They also argued that Gardner relied on the advice of an experienced ethics attorney when she sought reimbursement from the City of St. Louis, suggesting she acted on professional guidance rather than in bad faith.
Notably, the report noted that the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel asked a three-person panel to find that Gardner committed professional misconduct without asking for any specific level of punishment in its brief. The Missouri Supreme Court will have the final say on discipline, with the state seeking full disbarment.
A Pattern of Scrutiny
This is not the first time Gardner has faced discipline tied to the Greitens case. She was previously reprimanded and ordered to pay a $750 fine, a far lighter outcome than the disbarment now on the table.
Gardner's tenure has drawn scrutiny beyond the courtroom as well. A January 2025 report from Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick found patterns of mismanagement and neglect in the circuit attorney's office, according to FOX 2 Now, which detailed 29 full days and 11 half days during which Gardner performed classwork during business hours while serving as circuit attorney. Gardner resigned from the circuit attorney post in May 2023 after leading the office since 2017.
For now, the case rests with the Missouri Supreme Court, which gave no timeline for a decision after Thursday's arguments. Both sides await word on whether Gardner will face disbarment or a lesser sanction for conduct that has already cost her a reprimand once before.
