ST. CHARLES COUNTY • Races involving two controversial judges are a focal point of Tuesday's Republican primary ballot in St. Charles County.

Three lawyers in private practice are running against Associate Circuit Judge Matthew Thornhill, who was reprimanded by the state Supreme Court for violating rules of professional conduct while he was an assistant county prosecutor in 2006.

The incident involved Thornhill's request from a forgery defendant for a baseball autographed by former football star Terry Bradshaw. A disciplinary panel concluded that Thornhill never intended to accept the baseball but shouldn't have continued to handle the case after the ball was offered.

Meanwhile, Wentzville Municipal Judge Michael Carter, who is fighting charges of driving while intoxicated and speeding, is a candidate against the longtime county prosecutor, Jack Banas.

In the associate judge contest, two candidates — Richard Gartner and Karen Little — say the reprimand of Thornhill raises questions about his ethics.

The other candidate in the race, St. Charles City Councilman Richard Veit, said people would have to reach their own conclusions about what happened. However, he said a consequence of the situation — Thornhill's current inability to hear criminal cases — is an issue.

Because of the incident, Banas has used his authority as prosecutor to disqualify Thornhill on criminal cases. Thornhill has been assigned only civil cases.

"Voters have to decide, do they want a complete judge?" Veit said.

Thornhill, 42, in an interview this week called the episode "one incident of poor judgment" and said he was "cleared of any knowing wrongdoing."

He noted that he's the only candidate in the race with judicial experience and says he has provided "a consistent, objective review of cases."

In the baseball incident, Thornhill as assistant prosecutor and attorney Brian Zink were negotiating a potential plea agreement for a client of Zink, Mary Hart. Zink told Thornhill that Bradshaw was Hart's godfather and Thornhill, who collects baseball memorabilia, asked Zink to have her get a baseball signed by Bradshaw. Thornhill told Zink that if police would support a lesser sentence he would reduce Hart's charges to misdemeanors from felonies.

Hart eventually produced an autographed baseball, which later turned out to be a forgery, and the charges against Hart were reduced. Thornhill told Zink he didn't want the baseball and denied that it affected how he handled the case. The case was given later to another prosecutor and eventually the charges were dropped. The matter became public shortly after Thornhill was elected as a judge in 2006.

Some of Thornhill's opponents also say his religious views carry over into the courtroom.

In 2007, Thornhill started leading a weekly Bible study group at the county courthouse. After an attorney wrote to the judges questioning whether that forces taxpayers to support the group's beliefs, the sessions were moved to a meeting room in the county administration building that is routinely made available to the public.

Little, 60, alleged that Thornhill sometimes makes religious references in court.

Thornhill said the only instance he recalled is telling people in cases involving driver's license privileges that he "wouldn't serve as an impediment" if they wanted to drive to church on Sundays.

Thornhill added that no opponent has cited a case in which they think he hasn't followed the law.

Gartner, 55, complained that Thornhill, in his judge's chambers, has handed out Bibles to non-Christians. Thornhill said he has given Bibles to friends, both Christians and non-Christians, but not while discussing court cases.

Meanwhile, Little and Gartner criticized Veit, 49, for voting on the St. Charles council last November to designate a firm headed by Michael Sellenschuetter as the developer for a massive riverfront project after previously working as a lawyer for other Sellenschuetter-owned entities.

Veit and City Attorney Michael Valenti said Veit's vote was allowed under city rules.

Gartner, meanwhile, was kicked off the ballot by the state Ethics Commission for failing to file personal financial disclosure statements on time.

After Gartner insisted he mailed the documents weeks in advance of the deadline, a judge returned his name to the ballot. The state took the issue to the Missouri Court of Appeals, which won't hear the case until September.

It's unclear what will happen if Gartner wins the primary Tuesday but later loses the court case. There are no Democratic candidates for the judgeship, so the Republican nominee likely will run unopposed in November.

That's also the situation in the prosecutor's race, where Carter — a former Democratic candidate for other offices — switched parties to challenge Banas in the GOP primary.

Banas, 55, accused Carter, 38, of running against him as "retaliatory" for his office's filing the misdemeanor DWI and speeding charges in January following a traffic stop Dec. 6.

Banas said he didn't know about Carter's run for prosecutor until Carter's attorney told a reporter on the day the charges were filed. Carter denied that there was a tie and said he had begun making recorded telephone calls about his candidacy 10 days before he was charged.

Carter's attorney has said Carter wasn't drinking before he was stopped. A trial has been set for September.

Meanwhile, a judge has upheld a one-year drivers license revocation for Carter's refusal to submit to a breath test when he was stopped. After Carter formally filed for prosecutor, Banas removed his office from the case, which now is handled by St. Louis County prosecutors.

In his campaign, Banas, who was first elected in 1999, has cited his efforts to establish new courts for drug cases and persistent DWI offenders and his assignment of prosecutors specifically assigned to sexual assault and domestic violence cases.

Carter says Banas has done a "great job" generally but that it's time for new leadership after 12 years in office. "The mood of the nation is against incumbents," Carter said.

Carter, who gave $1,000 to Thornhill's campaign, said it was irresponsible for Banas to disqualify Thornhill from hearing all criminal cases. Carter has been disqualified by Wentzville's city prosecutor from hearing DWI and speeding cases.

OTHER ST. CHARLES COUNTY RACES

The county's top elected official, County Executive Steve Ehlmann, has Republican primary opposition in Charles Davis, a retired General Motors employee who is running a low-budget campaign.

In other countywide GOP primary races, Sheriff Tom Neer is opposed by one of his deputies, Pat Riley. Recorder of Deeds Barbara Hall faces term-limited state Rep. Joe Smith. No Democrat filed for those offices.

The only County Council race on Tuesday is on the GOP side, with St. Paul Alderman Dirk Bremer and former St. Paul Alderman Joe Cronin vying for the 1st District nomination.

In Wentzville, voters will decide on a proposed half-cent increase in the sales tax for park expansion and operations. St. Peters is seeking approval of a $40 million bond issue to rebuild storm water detention basins, repair creek erosion and clean waterways to meet federal guidelines.