JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Appellate Judicial Commission submitted its list of nominees to fill a vacancy on the Missouri Supreme Court Friday.
The vacancy was created by the retirement of Judge Laura Denvir Stith earlier this year. The list of nominees was submitted to Gov. Mike Parson after more than eight hours of public interviews, four hours of deliberation, and nine hours of balloting, leaving three contenders for the open seat. All three candidates received six votes from the seven-member commission.
Robin Ransom is a judge on the Missouri Eastern District Court of Appeals in St. Louis. She is a graduate of Douglass Residential College at Rutgers and the State University of New Jersey, with a law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law.
Donald E. Burrell Jr. is a graduate of what is now Missouri State University and received his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. He serves as a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District in Springfield.
William M. Corrigan Jr. serves as a judge in the 21st Judicial Circuit, covering St. Louis County. A St. Louis native, he is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and also received his law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law.
Stith retired in March after 20 years on the high court. She served as Chief Justice from 2007 to 2009, the second woman to hold the position in Missouri. Prior to her tenure on the Supreme Court, she served as a law clerk for a year before being appointed as a judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals. Stith served the Court of Appeals for more than six years before her appointment to the high court.
The commission considered its choices over the past week, working through 25 applicants to arrive at their picks. Parson has 60 days to name his selection to the court, with the decision reverting to the commission if the deadline is not met.
Cameron Gerber studied journalism at Lincoln University. Prior to Lincoln, he earned an associate’s degree from State Fair Community College. Cameron is a native of Eldon, Missouri.
Contact Cameron at cameron@themissouritimes.com.
