Judge Paul Wilson takes over as Mo. chief justice

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Supreme Court Judge Paul Wilson took over as the state's chief justice Thursday, beginning a two-year term atop Missouri's judicial system.

Wilson succeeds Chief Justice George Draper, who remains a member of the Supreme Court. Missouri's chief justice position rotates among the seven members of the court.

Wilson is a Jefferson City native who was a longtime aide to former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, both in the governor's office and when Nixon served as attorney general. Nixon appointed Wilson to temporarily fill a vacancy on the Cole County Circuit Court in 2010 and, after Wilson lost election to that court, Nixon appointed him to the Supreme Court in December 2012.

Voters retained Wilson for a 12-year term on the Supreme Court in November 2014.