On Feb. 15, Patrick Green, the mayor of Normandy, sent a letter to U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill questioning the judicial ethics of a St. Louis County judge.
In November 2009, St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge John Ross approved a temporary restraining order on the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection district’s spending. He recently lifted the order after 16 months of court control on the district’s finances.
Green’s letter – which represented the majority of 17 mayors served by fire district – stated that Ross demonstrated several acts of “abuse of power” in the case. It also asked McCaskill for an investigation, for Judge Ross’s withdrawal, or for a vote against his nomination
In December 2010, McCaskill nominated Ross for a federal judge appointment. Ross’ nomination remains before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The letter states that, “Our constituents desire assurance that the next federal judge will not demonstrate the kinds of abuses of power that we have seen by Judge John A. Ross.”
The letter questioned Ross’s board-member appointments and his court order to decrease the number of ambulances the fire district could operate. The fire district is one of the busiest in St. Louis County.
Among several questions, the letter asked why Ross ruled that the district pay Truman Bank $21,000 though the bank was not a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the District.
See letter below.
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The Honorable Claire McCaskill
Hart Senate Office Building, Ste. 717
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator McCaskill:
As the majority of the 17 mayors and the thousands of citizens served by the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District, we should have confidence in the fairness and objectivity of the next member of the federal bench. Our constituents desire assurance that the next federal judge will not demonstrate the kinds of abuses of power that we have seen by Judge John A. Ross in the St. Louis County Circuit Court.
Lifting of the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District did not eliminate our concerns about Judge John A. Ross or the St. Louis County 21st Circuit Court. This issue is not about racism; it’s about the abuse of power.
Judge Ross demonstrated a tendency to abuse his power with the TRO and we want him stopped from doing so at a higher level. Our concerns stem from several decisions by Judge Ross which seemed to ignore basic fairness and the law. Chief among of our concerns and questions are as follows:
Why did Judge Ross appoint Bridget Quinlisk-Dailey to the Fire District board even when knowing that she was a controversial candidate and is the sister of a former board member, Brian Quinlisk, who was investigated by the FBI for misappropriation of funds and removed from office by the voters? In fact, voters rejected “Quinslisk” at the polls but yet Judge Ross appoints one anyway. This was a slap in the voters’ face and a clear abuse of power
Why did Judge Ross force the District to pay Truman Bank $21,000 of taxpayers’ money even though the bank was not a plaintiff in any lawsuit against the District? This made no sense at all. It raised all sorts of ethical questions. Citizens are still dumbfounded over this blatant disregard of the law. -Another abuse of power
Why did Judge Ross deny the newly hired Fire Chief a chief’s badge and then reduce and deny the salary that comes with the office based on a newspaper article? She was forced to work at a salary two steps lower than the normal chief’s salary. This was not right! -Another abuse of power
Why did Judge Ross make himself accessible to politically motivated individuals and groups in this case? Why was the Post-Dispatch reporter Elizabeth Holland given personal access to the judge and to information not provided to all sides of the case? Why did attorney Kris Boevingloh, firefighter Greg Woods, and Mrs. Quinlisk-Dailey have personal access to Judge Ross? This shows clear, undue influence in the judicial process. – Another abuse of power
Why did Judge Ross arbitrarily remove the third ambulance from service without any evidence to prove that it was not needed, in a move that jeopardized the health and safety of citizens in the second busiest fire district in metropolitan St. Louis? Keep in mind Judge Ross never consulted any expert in EMS, need assessment, Fire Operations, etc. before making this shocking decision. – Yet another abuse of power
These abuses of power have left the community with a loss of confidence and respect for the St. Louis County judicial system as a whole and Judge Ross, in particular. We want an investigation into these abuses of power and undue influence on the bench of Judge Ross and the 21st Circuit Court of St. Louis County. We desire an investigation. We are asking the President to with draw Judge Ross’s nomination. We are asking that either you ask for an investigation, for Judge Ross’s withdrawal, or for a vote against his nomination, based on the letter we have provided. People should know whether the process was pure or tainted. Right now it appears the process was extremely tainted. Confidence about the 21st Circuit Court is at all time low among many of our constituents. They desire answers. You can help to provide those answers and alleviate their concerns. If everyone turns a blind eye and gives Judge John A. Ross a free pass to the federal bench, then we are condoning and participating in these abuses of the judicial process. That decision would ultimately fail the American people.
Respectfully,
Patrick B. Green
Mayor of City of Normandy, MO
and Representative of the majority of the
Mayors in the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District