Parson annnounced Gore's appointment in front of the seal of the circuit attorney's office that earlier this week had Gardner’s name above it. With Parson were city officials including Mayor Tishaura Jones and police chief Robert Tracy.
"Crime anywhere affected Missourians everywhere," Parson said. "We know there is a need to do better in the office we stand outside today."
To do it, the governor is turning to a man with a sterling reputation.
Gore has long been discussed as a possible pick for President Joe Biden’s long-awaited selection as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri. While he previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in federal court, he does not appear to have much, if any, experience in the St. Louis circuit court.
Long considered a rising star, Gore may nevertheless be best-known in Missouri political circles for representing then-Missouri Governor Eric Greitens even as Greitens was fighting charges brought by, yes, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner. Gore was a familiar face in Jefferson City during the Confide lawsuit against Greitens, which involved disappearing text messages.
After Greitens' resignation, Dowd Bennett put its considerable energies into attacking Gardner, pursuing a Bar complaint over how she handled evidence that led to a four-year ethics probe and many overheated whispers speculating about resignation or even jail time for Gardner. Those proved false; the Missouri Supreme Court settled for a $750 fine. A different effort, led by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and hinging on Gardner’s enrollment in an advanced degree nursing program even while her office suffered serious turnover, ultimately pushed Gardner from office less than a year later.
The city of St. Louis has contracted with Dowd Bennett on a good deal of legal work over the years, including in the city's lawsuit against Hyundai and Kia seeking to hold the car manufacturer liable for the rash of thefts sweeping the region. City Counselor Sheena Hamilton is a former equity partner of the firm.
Gore's legal career has spanned almost 30 years. He was Dowd Bennett's first Black partner and, according to the firm's website, Gore's areas of expertise are "complex civil litigation and white collar defense." He represented Anheuser-Busch against a gender pay discrimination suit and was also involved in an investigation of the government's siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.
Notably absent from this resume is any experience prosecuting cases in the 22nd Circuit.
Former assistant circuit attorney Natalia Ogurkiewicz, who worked under Gardner until earlier this year, says that she thinks Gore is "highly qualified and capable of helping this return to being one of the best [prosecuting attorney’s] offices in the region."
However, she adds, "[Gore] has never practiced in the circuit. Federal practice as a prosecutor is a world of difference from state, and this jurisdiction is pretty unique in its own right. I think it will be significantly more challenging for someone who hasn’t actually done city practice, but Godspeed."
A longtime assistant circuit attorney praises him as "a class act, intelligent, thoughtful and deliberate." The prosecutor adds, "A talented and respected attorney within/outside of Missouri."
Gore will have his work cut out for him. The circuit attorney's office has been plagued in past years by low staff levels, high turnover and dysfunction resulting in numerous murder cases falling through the cracks.
The office's chief trial assistant departed in March. The chief warrant officer has announced his forthcoming departure as well.
Every week for the past several weeks, numerous trials have been set to begin with the assigned prosecutor being someone no longer employed by the office. One attorney prosecuting cases for the office may be committing a misdemeanor every time he files an appearance.
Gore's appointment this morning makes him the third circuit attorney for the city in five days.
The week began with Kim Gardner still serving in the role. On May 4, after two and a half months of battling the attorney general's efforts to remove her, Gardner announced she'd be resigning June 1. However, on Tuesday, Gardner abruptly resigned the post she'd held for six years.
Confusion ensued, as Gardner attempted to grant St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell "all powers" to guide the office during the transition to a new top prosecutor, a move that seemed to take even Bell by surprise.
On Wednesday, Parson appointed his general counsel Evan Rodriguez as acting circuit attorney with Judge William Corrigan, a deputy attorney general, serving as Rodriguez's number two.
Over the past several days, attorneys from Jefferson City have been, in the words of one defense attorney, "swarming" around the courthouse and looking over the shoulders of circuit attorney staff.
Corrigan himself was present for a hearing for a double murder trial on Wednesday in which a prosecutor for the circuit attorney's office announced they would be dropping charges against a man who has been in jail since September 2020. The following day both Corrigan and Rodriguez were in the courtroom for a manslaughter trial.
It's unclear what sort of presence these attorneys from state agencies will have at the circuit attorney's office now that Gore is taking over.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story wrongly stated that Gore represented then-Gov. Eric Greitens at impeachment hearings in Jefferson City. Gore instead represented Greitens in Cole County on a civil suit over the governor's use of the Confide app and disappearing text messages. We regret the error.
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