Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed Judge John P. Smith to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Smith, who's been a district court judge in Cass County since 1991, takes the seat that became vacant when Judge Wilhelmina Wright was appointed to the state Supreme Court.
Smith has served as both chief judge and assistant chief judge of the Ninth Judicial District and as vice chair of the Minnesota Judicial Council.
The state's Court of Appeals is made up of judges representing each of Minnesota’s eight congressional districts, along with 11 at-large judges. Smith will have one of the at-large slots.