George W. Draper III

George Draper
Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court
In office
July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2021
Preceded byZel Fischer
Succeeded byPaul C. Wilson
Judge of the Missouri Supreme Court
In office
October 2011 – August 4, 2023
Appointed byJay Nixon
Preceded byMichael A. Wolff
Succeeded byKelly C. Broniec
Personal details
Born
George William Draper III

(1953-08-05) August 5, 1953 (age 71)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
EducationMorehouse College (BA)
Howard University (JD)

George William Draper III[1] (born August 5, 1953)[2] is an American lawyer who served as a judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri from 2011 to 2023. He was appointed to the court by Governor Jay Nixon. Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, he served on the Missouri Court of Appeals from 2000 to 2011. From 1998 to 2000, he served as a circuit judge in the St. Louis County Circuit Court; from 1994 to 1998 he was an associate circuit judge on the same court. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College, and his Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law.[3][4] His term as Chief Justice ended on June 30, 2021. He retired from the bench on August 4, 2023, one day shy of reaching the court's mandatory retirement age of 70.[5][6]

  1. ^ "George William Draper Judge Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com.
  2. ^ "Official Manual, State of Missouri 2009–2010" (PDF). Secretary of State of Missouri. p. 244. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  3. ^ "George W. Draper III to Become Missouri's Next Chief Justice - Springfield Metropolitan Bar". www.springfieldbar.com. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  4. ^ George W. Draper III on the Missouri Supreme Court website Archived 2012-05-10 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Palmer, Tod (June 20, 2023). "Missouri's 2nd Black state Supreme Court judge to retire in August". KSHB 41 Kansas City News. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  6. ^ Lauck, Scott (June 20, 2023). "Draper to retire from Supreme Court on Aug. 4 - Missouri Lawyers Media". Retrieved August 8, 2023.