Laura Denvir Stith (born October 30, 1953) is a former judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri. She served from 2001 to 2021. 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 in 1971 from John Burroughs School, a private school in metro St. Louis, Missouri. Four years later, she graduated magna cum laude from

Jackson College for Women The School of Arts and Sciences (A&S) is the largest of the eight schools and colleges that comprise Tufts University. Together with the School of Engineering, it offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the liberal arts, sciences, and engine ...

(now part of

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

), and then 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 Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. She served on the

Missouri Court of Appeals The Missouri Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court for the state of Missouri. The court handles most of the appeals from the Missouri Circuit Courts. The court is divided into three geographic districts: Eastern (based in St. ...

, 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. On February 2, 2021, she announced her retirement effective March 8, 2021. 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 Clayton is a city in and the seat of St. Louis County, Missouri. It borders the independent city of St. Louis. The population was 17,355 at the 2020 census. Organized in 1877, the city was named after Ralph Clayton, who donated the land for the ...

, a suburb of St. Louis, from 1983 to 1987. He was a decorated

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

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 Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Her sister Kate Stith is a law professor at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, and the wife of Judge

José A. Cabranes José Alberto Cabranes (born December 22, 1940) is an American lawyer who serves as a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a former presiding judge of the United States Foreign Intell ...

of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. José Cabranes: Family Her other sister, Rebecca Stith, is an attorney with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

References

External links

Laura Denvir Stith
on the Missouri Supreme Court Website , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stith, Laura Denvir 1953 births Living people 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Missouri Georgetown University Law Center alumni Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri Missouri Court of Appeals judges Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States Women in Missouri politics