Judge Laura Denvir Stith was born in St. Louis. She attended school in Clayton, Missouri, and graduated, with honors, in 1971 from John Burroughs School in 1971. A National Merit Scholar, she attended Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. During her junior year there, she studied at the University of Madrid through the Institute of European Studies. In 1975, she graduated from Tufts with honors, receiving a bachelor of arts in political science and social psychology. She then attended law school at Georgetown University Law Center, where she was an editor of the Law and Policy in International Business Journal. In 1978, Stith earned her law degree, with honors.

Upon graduation, Stith served as law clerk to Judge Robert E. Seiler of the Supreme Court of Missouri for one year. In 1979, she moved to Kansas City and joined the law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon. She became a partner there in 1984 and co-founded the firm’s appellate practice group.

On September 15, 1994, then-Governor Mel Carnahan appointed Stith as a judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, in Kansas City. She was retained by the Missouri voters in November 1996. During her time with the appeals court, Stith authored more than 400 opinions, which involved every aspect of state law. 

On March 2, 2001, then-Governor Bob Holden appointed Stith was to the Supreme Court of Missouri, filling the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge Ann K. Covington and, therefore, becoming only the second woman to serve on the state’s high court. She was sworn in by then-Chief Justice William Ray Price Jr. and sat with the Court for the first time on March 7, 2001. Stith was retained by Missouri voters in 2002 and 2014. 

She served as chief justice from July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2009. During her tenure as chief justice, Stith led the adoption of new rules to the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, enhancing openness in the application process and improving the evaluation of judges. Additionally, Stith was the Court’s liaison to the Joint Commission on Women in the Profession from 2013 to 2020. She also served as chair for the Gender and Justice Joint Committee of The Missouri Bar and the Supreme Court of Missouri. Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Stith its Woman of the Year at the 2013 Women’s Justice Awards. In 2021, The Missouri Bar Foundation honored her with the Spurgeon Smithson Award. 

Stith has been active in multiple legal associations, including The Missouri Bar, American Bar Association, and the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, serving as a member, speaker or moderator, and in various committee leadership roles within those organizations. Stith is also a member of the Association of Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City and served as president of its board of directors. Stith also has long been involved with Lawyers Encouraging Academic Performance (LEAP), a non-profit foundation promoting community service among lawyers in Kansas City and f encouraging young people in education. Stith was a founding director of LEAP, established in 1994.

Additionally, Stith has authored and co-authored numerous articles published in multiple law reviews, including the Duke Law Journal, Missouri Law Review, and Valparaiso University Law Review. Some of these have included: “A Contrast of State and Federal Court Authority to Grant Habeas Relief” (2004); “Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan: The Least Political Method of Selecting High Quality Judges” (2009, co-authored with Jeremy Root); and “Just Because You Can Measure Something, Does it Really Count?” (2009). 

After serving 20 years with the Supreme Court of Missouri, Judge Laura Denvir Stith retired March 8, 2021. Since then, she has served as a senior judge and as an officer and secretary for the American Law Institute.

Alan Scher Zagier, Associated Press, “Missouri Chief Justice Announces Judicial Selection Changes, Columbia Daily Tribune, (Columbia, Missouri), February 5, 2008.

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Glenn E. Rice, “Supreme Court Has New Judge, Laura Denvir Stith of KC Replaces Ann K. Covington, The Kansas City Star, (Kansas City, Missouri), March 3, 2001.

Jason Kander, Secretary of State, Secretary of State, Official Manual State of Missouri 2015-2016, (Jefferson City, MO: State Printers, 2016), 215.

John R. Ashcroft, Secretary of State, Official Manual, State of Missouri 2017-2018, (Jefferson City, MO: State Printers, 2018), 210.

John R. Ashcroft, Secretary of State, 2019-2020 Official Manual State of Missouri, (Jefferson City, MO: State Printers, 2020), 218.

Julius Johnson, ed., Rebecca McDowell Cook, Secretary of State, Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1999-2000, (Jefferson City, MO: State Printers, 2000), 216.

Krista S. Myer, ed., Robin Carnahan, Secretary of State, Official Manual State of Missouri 2005-2006, (Jefferson City, MO: State Printers, 2006), 239.

Krista S. Myer, ed., Robin Carnahan, Secretary of State, Official Manual, State of Missouri 2007-2008, (Jefferson City, MO: State Printers, 2008, 237.

Laura Denvir Stith and Jeremy Root, “The Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan: The Least Political Method of Selecting High Quality Judges,” Missouri Law Review, vol. 74, issue 3, Summer 2009, (Columbia, MO: The University of Missouri School of Law, 2009), 711-750.

“Laura Denvir Stith Named to Missouri Supreme Court,” St. Louis Daily Record, (St. Louis, Missouri), March 3, 2001.

Laura Egerdal, ed., Robin Carnahan, Secretary of State, Official Manual, State of Missouri 2009-2010, (Jefferson City, MO: State Printers, 2010, 233.

Laura Swinford, ed., Jason Kander, Secretary of State, Official Manual State of Missouri 2013-2014, (Jefferson City, MO: State Printers, 2014), 233.

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“Retired Supreme Court Judge Laura Denvir Stith Recalls Career milestones,” St. Louis Record, (St. Louis, Missouri), March 9, 2021.

Rob Davis, ed., Matt Blunt, Secretary of State, Official Manual, State of Missouri 2001-2002, (Jefferson City, MO: State Printers, 2002), 219.

Rob Davis, ed., Matt Blunt, Secretary of State, Official Manual State of Missouri 2003-2004, (Jefferson City, MO: State Printers, 2004), 224.

Scott Lauck, “Woman of the Year, Laura Denvir Stith,” Missouri Lawyers Weekly, (St. Louis, Missouri, 2013), 23.

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Supreme Court of Missouri Historical Society, “Judge Stith Named To Missouri Supreme Court,” The Missouri Supreme Court History Society Journal, vol. 7, no. 3, July 2001, (Jefferson City, MO: Supreme Court of Missouri Historical Society, 2001).

“The Hon Laura Denvir Stith, Kansas, MO,” The American Law Institute website, accessed June 25, 2024.