Veteran judge to resign from Mo. Supreme Court

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A 20-year member of the Missouri Supreme Court has announced his resignation effective Aug. 1.

Judge William Ray Price Jr. told Gov. Jay Nixon in a letter Monday he's leaving the high court to return to private legal practice.

The 60-year-old judge is the longest-serving member of the current seven-member court. He was appointed in April 1992 by Republican Gov. John Ashcroft. He was retained by voters most recently in 2006 for a term that would have ended in 2018.

In his letter to the governor, Price said he wants his successor to be chosen through Missouri's nonpartisan judicial selection process.

Missouri lawmakers have approved a proposed amendment to the state Constitution revising parts of that process. The amendment will appear on a statewide ballot later this year.