JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The newest appointee to the Missouri appeals court is following his father's path.

Gov. Jay Nixon on Monday appointed St. Louis County Circuit Judge Gary M. Gaertner Jr. to the Eastern District Court of Appeals. He succeeds retired Judge Booker T. Shaw.

Gaertner's father served on the appeals court for 22 years until he retired in 2007. His son was one of three finalists to succeed him but was not chosen by Gov. Matt Blunt.

This time, Nixon picked Gaertner Jr. over St. Louis attorney Thomas Weaver and state Rep. Rachel Bringer, who is an attorney in Palmyra.

The 44-year-old Gaertner Jr. has served as a circuit judge since 2000. He previously was an assistant U.S. attorney for eastern Missouri and an assistant St. Louis County prosecutor.