Appointed by Bob Holden Spouse(s) Donald G. Scott Preceded by Ann K. Covington Name Laura Stith | Preceded by Michael A. Wolff Role Judge | |
Born October 30, 1953 (age 70)
St. Louis, Missouri ( 1953-10-30 ) Alma mater Tufts University
Georgetown University Law Center Education Tufts University, Georgetown University Law Center | ||
Succeeded by William Ray Price, Jr. | ||
Laura denvir stith introduces mary russell
Laura Denvir Stith (born October 30, 1953) has been a judge on the Supreme Court of Missouri since 2001. She was elected by her fellow Supreme Court justices to serve a two-year term as Chief Justice, from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2009, becoming the second woman to serve as Missouri's highest-ranking jurist.
Stith graduated magna cum laude from Jackson College for Women (now part of Tufts University) in 1975 and from Georgetown University Law Center in 1978. Stith served as a law clerk for Chief Justice Robert Seiler of the Missouri Supreme Court and then entered private practice in Kansas City, Missouri. She served on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, from 1994 to 2000. On March 7, 2001, then-Governor Bob Holden appointed her to the Supreme Court of Missouri, and she was retained by a vote of the people at the November 2002 election.
Stith is a founding director for Lawyers Encouraging Academic Performance ("LEAP") in Kansas City, where she lives with her attorney husband, Donald Scott, and their three children. Her late father, Richard T. Stith, Jr. (October 31, 1919-February 10, 2013), an insurance agent and financial planner, served as mayor of Clayton, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, from 1983 to 1987. He was a decorated Marine pilot during World War II. Her late mother, Ann Carter Stith (November 21, 1920-November 24, 2005), was a longtime advocate of clean government, prison reform, and educational and family support services for children. Stith's brother Richard T. Stith III is a law professor at Valparaiso University in Indiana. Her sister Kate Stith is a law professor at Yale University, and the wife of Judge José A. Cabranes of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Her other sister, Rebecca Stith, is an attorney with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.