JEFFERSON CITY – Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who is trying to turn out voters in his quest for a full four-year term, was issued two citations for violating Missouri conservation laws more than two decades ago.
But, through Missouri’s expungement statutes, the Republican appointee is essentially free of liability for his past acts after he was able to clear his record when he began working for the state Department of Corrections in 2018, according to the Post-Dispatch learned.
The deletions cover two incidents in which Bailey was fishing, his campaign said. In one, at age 18, she said she paid a $15 fine for staying in a park after hours after a fishing expedition. Later, while in college, she paid a $25 fine for violating another conservation law.
None of the subpoenas affected his ability to enter the military, obtain a law license or receive state approval to serve as a foster parent, campaign spokesman Mike Hafner said.
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The expungement, which took place in a Callaway County courtroom, came as Bailey seeks the Republican nomination for attorney general against Will Scharf, a former aide to Gov. Eric Greitens and an attorney for former President Donald Trump.
Bailey has tried to portray Scharf, a Clayton resident, as a wealthy out-of-state lawyer looking to gain a foothold in national politics.
When Greitens resigned in 2018, Scharf worked in Washington and New York before coming to St. Louis in 2020 to work as an assistant U.S. attorney in the violent crimes division.
“Like millions of Missourians, Andrew Bailey loves to wet his line as often as he can and enjoy our beautiful ponds, lakes and rivers. We invite Manhattanite Will Scharf to join him one day to learn what a fishing rod is and experience all Missouri has to offer,” Hafner said.
Scharf indicated he wasn’t taking the bait.
“I love fishing, too,” Scharf told the Post-Dispatch, adding, “I’ve never violated the state fishing law.”
Missouri law allows people who commit certain crimes to have them sealed under specific circumstances.
An expunged record is not publicly accessible and would require a court order to reopen. People who have had offenses expunged do not have to disclose them except in specific cases.
In total, almost 2,000 crimes qualify for elimination. Crimes that are not eligible for expungement include felonies involving sexual offenses, death, kidnapping, and domestic assault.
To apply for an expungement, people must have paid their fines, completed probation or parole, and had a clean slate for three years.
In the case of misdemeanor fishing offenses or conservation violations, a person would have to wait a year to be eligible.
A judge must determine that the petitioner is not a threat to public safety and that expungement is in the public interest.
The primary election is August 6.
The Missouri Legislature mirrors the federal structure in many ways. Video by Beth O’Malley
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