A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Kimberly Gardner, the first African American Circuit Attorney for the City of St. Louis, claiming a “racially motivated conspiracy to deny the civil rights of racial minorities.”

In her initial complaint, Gardner argued that the city of St. Louis, the local police union, a special prosecutor and a private taxpayer worked in conjunction with one another via a racist conspiracy to try and stifle her efforts toward criminal justice reform. She further argued that in efforts to prevent such reform, defendants appointed an ethically conflicted Special Prosecutor who searched and seized her files without probable cause, abusing the legal process.

Judge John Ross rejected Garder’s conspiracy argument, finding her claims were too general and circumstantial to “suggest a meeting of the minds directed to an unconstitutional action.” He noted that Gardner’s “conclusion that Defendants have collectively conspired against her and her agenda to take on racial inequality in St. Louis policing, without any specific factual support, fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted.” In addition, Ross stated that Gardner had no reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to the server and files of the Circuit Attorney’s Office because it is a public office. As such, she has failed to show a constitutional violation. Further, Ross held that Gardner’s claim of a baseless criminal investigation of her must fail because “perceived harassment and annoyance are unfortunate by-products of litigation.” In addition, Gardner failed to establish that the process by which her office was investigated “has been used to accomplish some end which is outside the regular purview of the process.”

Ross concluded by stating “Gardner’s claim also fails because she has not plausibly alleged that the City’s action was deliberately indifferent to her constitutional rights.” As a result, all claims in this suit were dismissed.