Wolff to leave Missouri Supreme Court

Judge Michael A. Wolff said Tuesday that he will step down from the Missouri Supreme Court.

In a statement, Wolff said he is taking a full-time teaching position at Saint Louis University School of Law beginning in the fall semester of 2011.

Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael A. Wolff, left, said today in a statement that he leave the court next year. File photo

“By next August, I will have served 13 years on the Court, and the Missouri Constitution says I must retire in the not-too-distant future,” Wolff said. “Because I am not the retiring type, I am looking forward to the next phase of my life.”

Wolff, 65, would have faced mandatory retirement in 2015 under a state constitutional provision that prevents judges from serving after they turn 70. He would have faced a retention vote in 2012.

Gov. Mel Carnahan, a Democrat, appointed Wolff to the bench in 1998. Wolff was Carnahan’s chief counsel from 1993 to 1994. Prior to his time on the Supreme Court, Wolff was on the faculty of the SLU law school for 23 years.

Wolff was chief justice of the court from July 2005 to July 2007.

Here’s the full statement from Wolff:

I have informed my colleagues at the Supreme Court of Missouri that I plan to leave the Court to take a full-time teaching position at Saint Louis University School of Law beginning in the fall semester of 2011.

The law school has a remarkable teaching faculty and has created a highly productive community of scholars. The scholarly work of the current faculty is extraordinary, and the school is attracting some of the finest young scholars in legal education today. While I am not exactly young, I am honored to be rejoining their ranks. It is a vibrant and exciting place.

I have enjoyed my time on the Court because I have been privileged to serve with a highly collegial and mutually supportive group of judges – and I include in my gratitude the several with whom I served who have moved on during my time here. I likewise am grateful for the help of everyone with whom I have worked alongside – my staff, including my executive assistant and the many law clerks who have worked for me; the clerk and deputy clerks of the court; our communications staff; legal counsel; marshals; and maintenance workers. I also am grateful for those who support us here and at the state courts administrator’s office as well as the judges and staff throughout the state who are part of this fine judicial system. I thank the members of appellate judicial commission, the late Gov. Mel Carnahan and the voters of Missouri for this great privilege. I hope that I have served the citizens of Missouri well, and I hope my successor on the Court will enjoy serving here as much as I have.

By next August, I will have served 13 years on the Court, and the Missouri Constitution says I must retire in the not-too-distant future. Because I am not the retiring type, I am looking forward to the next phase of my life.