ST. LOUIS—Roughly two months into the job as Missouri’s top law enforcement officer, attorney general Catherine Hanaway hasn’t shied away from high-profile legal battles similar to those of her more recent predecessors that have large political implications. But she says her chief focus remains on fighting violent crime and tackling “meat and potatoes” type issues.
Hanaway, the former Missouri House Speaker and later a U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri in the George W. Bush administration, became attorney general in September after Andrew Bailey resigned to become a co-director of the FBI in Washington.
Almost immediately, Hanaway’s office has been involved in litigating issues relating to the extraordinary session of the General Assembly in September that produced new congressional district maps which are widely expected to give Republicans an additional seat in Congress. An organization called “People Not Politicians” has launched a petition campaign to subject the maps to a statewide vote.
Last month, Hanaway’s office filed a federal lawsuit to stop “People Not Politicians” from further activity toward the referendum. The organization has a Dec. 11 deadline to submit more than 106,000 signatures that would stop the new maps from taking effect until after a referendum. A hearing on a preliminary injunction is scheduled for Nov. 25.
The state says a referendum can’t be used to overturn redistricting decisions made by the General Assembly because state and federal constitutions don’t specify that power.
Opponents say that’s exactly what was done in 1922, when voters rejected a redistricting proposal.
“We’ve had a new constitution since then, right? And so we don’t think that precedent is binding on the court,” Hanaway told Spectrum News on Friday. “And the other thing that they’re overlooking is that we have twice since then had mid-decade redistricting and it did not go to a vote of the people.”
Hanaway also defended a move not to join other states, including Illinois, which filed suit against the Trump administration for not funding SNAP benefits for the month of November, citing the federal government shutdown. The administration is appealing a district court ruling saying it needs to fund the program but is now paying out the benefits.
“The vast majority of our cases, where we’re either defending a state program, defending a department, and we’re sort of the lawyer for the administration. That’s how we most often get called into cases,” Hanaway said. “I think it’s something like 70% of our cases are in that category. I would say this is one of those cases where we need to be aligned with what the (Kehoe) administration wants to do.”
Governor Kehoe’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
On another legal front, Hanaway has continued with Bailey’s push to have St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery removed from office via a quo warranto proceeding. The case goes to trial Nov. 18. This week, her office added a new count, alleging that Montgomery cannot remain in the office because he is being held in federal custody for violating bond conditions in another case. Montgomery has already been replaced on an interim basis by former SLMPD chief John Hayden pending trial.
The case sets up two potential predicaments. What happens if Montgomery wins the trial and remains in office but still in federal custody, or is removed, without a clear path for who should be charged with naming his replacement prior to a special election?
Megan Green, the president of the Board of Aldermen, has said the body wants a transparent process for Montgomery’s potential interim replacement. But following recent precedents, including state appointees Gabe Gore (St. Louis Circuit Attorney) and Melissa Price Smith (St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney), Hanaway still sees it as Kehoe’s call.
“It seems like there may be some consensus around him (Hayden) doing the job long-term. And if the President of the board of the alderman and the governor and the mayor can all agree,I think that’s the best path forward. I continue to believe strongly it’s the governor’s appointment to make.
But if everybody can agree, harmony’s a good thing for the city,” Hanaway said.
Hanaway says working to fight violent crime in St. Louis and statewide remains the top priority, pointing to the need for the public’s confidence in safety here to match the statistics which have shown a decrease in recent years. As for the “meat and potatoes” issues, those include pocketbook issues like consumer fraud, Medicaid fraud and No-Call list violations.
She says her office has taken in 80 consumer complaints connected to the aftermath of the May 16 tornado here just since she took over in September.
