Cape judge fills in on state Supreme Court

The open chair at the Missouri Supreme Court, vacated by Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr. of Cape Girardeau when he took a post on the federal bench, was temporarily filled Thursday by another Cape Girardeau jurist, Circuit Judge Ben Lewis.

The seven-member court regularly calls on other members of the judiciary to fill in when there is a vacancy or when a sitting member has a conflict of interest. The posting was Lewis' first to the high court. He heard oral arguments in two cases, an appeal of a manslaughter conviction from St. Francois County and an appeal from St. Louis County on a civil case involving annexation and boundary changes.

A panel of three nominees has been submitted to Gov. Matt Blunt to fill the vacancy created by Limbaugh's departure from the court.

-- Southeast Missourian