On my 81st birthday, I found myself back in the courtroom, cross-examining a defendant and his ballistics experts in a murder trial—an unexpected chapter after winding down my practice as a senior litigation partner at Thompson Coburn. The experience underscored the reality facing many prosecutors today: While the nature of violent crime and defenses has changed, the need for hands-on training from experienced prosecutors has not.

In 2023, the St. Louis circuit attorney’s office faced a staffing crisis after the forced resignation of the elected circuit attorney. The office was left with a backlog of 250 homicide cases and a shortage of attorneys with the experience necessary to try these cases. Knowing the new circuit attorney, I volunteered to assist and was soon sworn in as a special assistant and assigned 10 homicide cases, all of which were 3 to 6 years old.

Since then, I have concluded 25 homicide cases, half by trial. Trying homicide cases was not new to me, as prior to joining Thomson Coburn, I spent 12 years as a prosecutor in St. Louis, trying many of the high-profile cases and being appointed to try numerous homicide cases in smaller counties throughout Missouri.

My return to prosecution was not just about helping the community but also about helping younger prosecutors navigate a rapidly evolving landscape while bringing justice the right way. A young attorney was assigned to each case from the beginning, so that we could work together in preparing the case for trial.

I would assign them tasks, meet with them to discuss strategy, and have them sit with me during trial—taking those witnesses I felt they would be able to handle. The idea was for them to experience a case from beginning to end, building upon the experience they were gaining with the less significant cases they were assigned to (which rarely went to trial).

Every one of the young prosecutors has been bright, energetic and dedicated to the role of a prosecutor. Each has participated enthusiastically and performed well under the pressures of such serous trials. I tried to instill in them the appreciation for the people we are serving, the victims and their families. It is something that kept me at it for 12 years and what pulled me back. At the conclusion of a recent trial, I approached the victim’s mother and extended my hand, she put me in the biggest bear hug. I may not get paid, but I am compensated well.

Thompson Coburn allowed me to continue to use my office and support staff, including the advanced courtroom technology. This gave the young assistants a look at better technology, while the new circuit attorney upgrades his office. Technology is increasingly important due to the changes in police work and prosecution. Cameras are everywhere, and so much of the evidence at trial is in the form of video. The ability to create useful courtroom evidence is more important than ever.

There is another difference I have noticed in trying homicide cases now. Before, there were consistent motives: greed, sex, jealousy and anger. These no longer seem as prevalent. Today, we are often left wondering why. Now, I often have no idea what the motivation of the defendant was. But there is a consistent theme—guns. When something happens, multiple shots are fired, leaving dead and wounded. I have tried cases where 50 or more shots were fired in a minute or less.

In a recent trial, a 19-year-old man with no prior criminal involvement met his girlfriend during her break at a retail store. During his visit, the girlfriend noticed a homeless man approaching who had been banned from the store. She called the police, but the young man decided to take it upon himself to assist. He walked right up to the man, who immediately pushed back. Within seconds, the older man was dead with two bullets in his chest.

What caused this? The young man had a pistol in a holster at his waist. While the young man may have had no evil intent, having a firearm emboldened him. Even though the older man was unarmed, the young man’s defense was that his gun was visible, and when the older man pushed back, the young man was afraid the man would take his gun and kill him. What irony! The same gun that caused a man’s death was the key to a defense that justified his killing. Guns can make a person brave but also can make them afraid and then do something stupid.

A newer theme I see constantly: A gun is drawn in a dispute, no matter how minor. Teenagers hijack cars because they have a gun that makes them brave. Many have extended magazines containing more than 30 bullets. Assault rifles or modified versions are everywhere. The velocity of the bullet is so great that in a second, it can kill a person six football fields away.

Recently, a woman mistakenly sideswiped a car. A passenger of the struck car got out with a rifle and fired 11 shots within seconds. A camera caught the devastation of that weapon, showing the woman driver’s window exploding. Those 11 bullets could have killed innocent people far away from the shooting. The shooter has been sentenced to 40 years in prison, but that is no consolation to the victim’s mother, the one who smothered me in a bear hug.

The challenge for prosecutors is that these scenarios are difficult to prosecute due to the number of shots fired by multiple individuals and the difficulty of identifying whose bullet caused the death. Additionally, defendants routinely now claim they fired only to protect themselves. Juries are easily confused by what is legitimate self-defense, with videos routinely replayed and dissected into seconds in an effort to prove or disprove self-defense.

I feel good about my time trying cases for the circuit attorney. I feel it is a better use of my time than other retirement activities. I only have a few more trials scheduled, and it appears the need for my services is coming to an end, with more of the young prosecutors gaining the experience needed to take my place.

I hope I have contributed to their training. They all seem to share the value I have held dear for many years: Honest, competent prosecutors are the backbone of our justice system. There is no better job because a prosecutor does not have a single client but represents all the people. A prosecutor need only do what they believe is right because their only interest is in seeing that justice is done.

Gordon Ankney is a senior counsel with Thompson Coburn and a special assistant circuit attorney for the city of St. Louis. He can be reached at (314) 602-6003 or [email protected].

ABAJournal.com is accepting queries for original, thoughtful, nonpromotional articles and commentary by unpaid contributors to run in the Your Voice section. Details and submission guidelines are posted at “Your Submissions, Your Voice.”