ST. LOUIS – A judge denied a motion from St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner to dismiss the Missouri attorney general’s case that attempts to remove her from office.

According to Missouri court records, special Judge John Torbitzky dismissed the motion Tuesday. This allows a quo warranto lawsuit against Gardner to advance to trail.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey originally filed a writ of quo warranto against Gardner on Feb. 23, accusing her of neglecting her duties as circuit attorney. He amended his petition last month to include additional allegations of neglect.

In an April 18 court hearing addressing this case, attorney’s for Gardner asked Judge Torbitzky to dismiss the case. After hours of discussions, Torbitzky set a tentative trial date in the ouster effort for Sept. 25.

The lawsuit followed a tragedy in February involving Janae Edmondson, an out-of-town teenager who suffered a life-changing injury in St. Louis due to a driver who was out on bond awaiting trial for armed robbery.

Last week, Gardner also filed a “change of judge” motion to request a new judge to oversee the ouster effort. If Gardner’s request is approved, the state Supreme Court would choose a replacement for Torbitzky, but that might not happen for several weeks.

Unrelated to this case, a judge ruled to move forward with “indirect criminal contempt” proceedings last week against Gardner after she failed to show up to two court hearings in an armed robbery case. Judge Michael Noble scheduled a hearing for next month and weighed in on Gardner by saying, “the Circuit Attorney’s Office appears to be a rudderless ship of chaos.”