Laura Denvir Stith

Laura Denvir Stith
Current Court Information:
Missouri Supreme Court
Title:	Judge
Service:
Active:	2001-2014
Past position:	Missouri Court of Appeals
Past term:	1994-2001
Past position:	Judge
Personal History
Bachelors:	Tufts University, 1975
Law School:	Georgetown University Law Center, 1978

Laura Denvir Stith is a judge of the Missouri Supreme Court. She was appointed to this position in 2001, retained by voters in 2002, and her current term as expires in 2014.

Education

Stith received a B.A. in Political Science and Social Psychology from Tufts University in 1975 and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1978.

Legal career

After graduating from law school, Stith clerked for Robert E. Seiler, of the Missouri Supreme Court. She spent the next fourteen years in private practice, first as an associate and later a partner. Stith served as a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals from 1994 until taking office on the Missouri Supreme Court. She was appointed by Governor Bob Holden and retained in 2002. Stith also served as chief justice from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2009.

Awards and Associations

• Founding director, Lawyers Encouraging Academic Performance
• 2009 Joseph Stevens Aspire to Excellence Award, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
• 2006 Distinguished Non-Alumnus Award, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law
• Member, Association of Women Lawyers
• Chair, Gender and Justice Joint Committee of The Missouri Bar and the Supreme Court of Missouri

Criticism for Roper v. Simmons Opinion

Judge Stith authored an opinion in Roper v. Simmons (2003) that directly contradicted Supreme Court precedent by finding the execution of a person under the age of 18 to be a violation of the Eighth Amendment, in part relying upon foreign law and treaties as part of the court’s determination that the national consensus on execution of minors had changed. In his dissent to the U.S. Supreme Court’s evaluation of the case, Justice Scalia took issue with the use of international law as a basis for reasoning in the case, writing on page 18 that “the basic premise of the Court’s argument – that American law should conform to the laws of the rest of the world – ought to be rejected out of hand.”

Though the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately upheld the decision, Justices O’Connor and Scalia both criticized the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision to overturn federal precedent. On page 7 of her dissent, Justice O’Connor writes, “As a preliminary matter, I take issue with the Court’s failure to reprove, or even to acknowledge, the Supreme Court of Missouri’s unabashed refusal to follow our controlling decision in Stanford. The lower court concluded that, despite Stanford’s clear holding and historical recency, our decision was no longer binding authority because it was premised on what the court deemed an obsolete assessment of contemporary values. Quite apart from the merits of the constitutional question, this was clear error.” Justice Scalia was also concerned with Judge Stith’s decision, writing on page 23 of his dissent, “To add insult to injury, the Court affirms the Missouri Supreme Court without even admonishing that court for its flagrant disregard of our precedent in Stanford. Until today, we have always held that ‘it is this Court’s prerogative alone to overrule one of its precedents.’ State Oil Co. v. Khan, 522 U.S. 3, 20 (1997).”

External links

• Your Missouri Courts, Laura Denvir Stith
• Project Vote Smart, Judge Laura Denvir Smith (MO)
• Your Missouri Courts, Press Release: "Judge Stith's remarks concerning Missouri's nonpartisan merit selection plan for judges", September 11, 2007

References