The pandemic ushered in an era of remote hearings that Missouri’s court system was previously slowly inching towards, according to a recently retired Missouri Supreme Court justice.
“More courts will have hearings online that don't require witnesses like a continuance, a trial setting or to argue a motion,” said Judge Laura Denvir Stith. “We had been working on this for some time and planning on bringing it out but I think COVID moved things along twice as fast.”
After serving 20 years as a member of the Missouri Supreme Court, including two years as chief justice, Stith retired this week on March 8.
“In-person trials have been very difficult,” Stith told the St. Louis Record. “We've had some but you can never know when a juror might suddenly get COVID or something else might happen to throw things off.”
Among the cases adjudicated over the span of her judicial career, Stith said she’ll never forget the Roper v. Simmons case concerning the juvenile death penalty.
As previously reported, before the Roper litigation, there was no law in place to prevent 16 and 17-year-olds from being put to death for a crime.
“Death cases are always difficult for everyone or they should be,” Stith said. “If they are easy, then you're not looking at them enough because that is just the most serious decision you can make. So, they are always difficult. You're dealing with someone's life. You're also dealing with someone's life who's been lost, such as a victim and their family.”
Stith said she’s looking forward to continuing to work within the judicial system in a senior judge capacity.
“When you're a senior judge, it means you're not practicing so you don't have conflicts of interest,” she said “You can be available as a fill-in and you’re available to assist in whatever capacity the court system needs. There’s no appointment or election. It's a status.”
What Stith said she’ll miss the most about being a Missouri Supreme Court justice is the collegiality.
“It's wonderful to see justice in action on this close-up, personal level and to know, through my involvement in it, how the process works the way it's supposed to,” she said. “It’s something I've been so lucky to be a part of.”
Prior to being appointed to the Supreme Court on March 7, 2001, to replace Judge Ann Covington, Stith served as a judge on the Western District Missouri Court of Appeals for six years.
Stith, the second woman ever to serve on the Court, said Judge Covington served as a role model and paved the way for her and the other judges appointed to the Supreme Court in the last 20 years.
“I hope that in some small way my service over the last 20 years has continued to be a model for women lawyers and other minorities throughout Missouri that the court system of Missouri is open to all those who wish to serve, whatever their gender, race, ethnicity or type of legal practice,” Stith said in the court's press release.
In first announcing Stith’s retirement during his 2021 State of the Judiciary address, Chief Justice George W. Draper III said: “Judge Laura Denvir Stith[’s] … resume and body of work speak for themselves … she will leave a lasting legacy in the areas of ethics, gender and justice. She is a dedicated jurist. Her experience, intelligence, diligence, and wisdom will be missed. Please join me in wishing her all the best in her retirement.”
After graduating magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., Stith worked as a law clerk for Missouri Supreme Court Justice Robert E. Seiler and subsequently joined the Kansas City law firm, Shook, Hardy, and Bacon, where she had a civil practice for 15 years.
She was appointed to her seat on the high court by former Democrat Gov. Bob Holden.