Former Missouri AG lawyer chosen as judge

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon has appointed a former assistant attorney general to the circuit court in Jackson County.

J. Dale Youngs will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Circuit Judge John O'Malley. The appointment was announced Thursday.

Youngs worked in the attorney general's office from 1996 to 2002, while Nixon was attorney general.

He worked in the consumer protection and high technology and computer crime units. He also served as chief counsel for the office's western region.

Youngs later joined the law firm Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin, now called Husch Blackwell Sanders.

He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.