ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Supreme Court has appointed a retired 51ºÚÁÏ Circuit Judge to preside over the removal case against Sheriff Alfred Montgomery.
Judge Steven R. Ohmer, who served on the bench in 51ºÚÁÏ courts for 30 years before retiring last year, will start by holding a hearing Wednesday to set the ground rules and timeline for the case, according to an order filed Thursday.
"All counsel for the parties must appear in person and be prepared to discuss: scheduling order including pleadings, discovery, pre-trial hearings, status conferences and trial setting," the order says.
Retired 51ºÚÁÏ Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer reads his trial notes from the second day of a hearing to decide whether to vacate Christopher Dunn’s murder conviction on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, at the Carnahan Courthouse in 51ºÚÁÏ.
Ohmer's appointment and the hearing mark the first steps in court in Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey's effort to remove Montgomery, 28, from office.Â
The suit, called a "quo warranto," accuses Montgomery of hiring his half-brother as a deputy and breaking the law by ordering a city jail official and a former deputy to be detained. It also says he neglected his duties by refusing to transport inmates from the city jail for medical treatment and misused public resources by having a deputy pick up his kids from school.
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51ºÚÁÏ Sheriff Alfred Montgomery appears at a Board of Aldermen Budget Committee meeting at City Hall on Monday, June 2, 2025.
"This is about restoring the rule of law," Bailey said at a news conference announcing his suit.
Shortly after the case was filed, city judges recused themselves, citing a conflict of interest. The sheriff's office oversees security desks in the courthouses, transports inmates from jail to the courtrooms and serves as bailiffs for the courtrooms.
Ohmer is likely familiar with the relationship between the sheriff's office and judges. He was appointed as an associate circuit judge in 1994 and then elevated to a circuit judge in 2000.
In his time on the bench, he was part of the Missouri Supreme Court's budget committee and was appointed to preside over a number of cases statewide, according to a Q&A with Ohmer posted by the 22nd Judicial Circuit.
One of those special appointments was presiding over the retrial of Russell Faria, whom Ohmer found not guilty of killing his wife, Betsy Faria, at their home in Lincoln County. Betsy Faria's friend, Pam Hupp, was later charged with her murder.
Ohmer also presided over a number of murder trials in the city, and oversaw juvenile cases in 51ºÚÁÏ before his retirement in April 2024.Â
He did not overlap with Montgomery. Montgomery took office in January.
The first hearing in the case is set for 11 a.m. Wednesday.
After referencing a Post-Dispatch article about the sheriff's recent controversies, Alderman Michael Browning questions Sheriff Alfred Montgomery on budget requests. Video courtesy of the City of 51ºÚÁÏ, edited by Jenna Jones.
