Laura Denvir Stith, a Missouri Court of Appeals Western District judge, has been named by Governor Bob Holden to serve on the Missouri Supreme Court. Stith replaces Ann Covington, who announced her resignation after sitting on the Supreme Court since 1988. The 47-year-old Stith was appointed to the state Court of Appeals in 1994 by Governor Mel Carnahan. Prior to that she worked at a Kansas City law firm for 15 years. Stith, who was born in St. Louis, earned her law degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.