According to a news release from Gov. Mike Parson's office Friday, Parson appointed Judge Michael E. Gardner to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.

He will succeed Judge Lawrence E. Mooney, who retired in September 2019.

A Cape Girardeau native, Gardner serves as Circuit Judge of the 32nd Judicial Circuit. According to ballotpedia.org, Gardner's term is set to expire Dec. 31.

Kelli Jones, communications director for the Governor's office, said Friday that Gov. Parson has the authority to appoint a replacement for the remainder of Gardner's term with the 32nd Judicial District, but that had not yet been determined.

Gardner was preceded on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, by Judge Stanley Grimm, appointed by then Gov. John Ashcroft in 1987. Grimm served on that court until 1998, according to the Southeast Missourian archives.

Gardner earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law.

He is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Missouri Bar Foundation and the Cape West Rotary Club. Gardner and his family are active members of their church and attend numerous school activities.