Julia Smith Gibbons
Julia Smith Gibbons (born December 23, 1950 in Pulaski, Tennessee) is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Julia Smith Gibbons | |
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Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | |
Assumed office July 31, 2002 | |
Appointed by | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | Gilbert S. Merritt Jr. |
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee | |
In office 1994–2000 | |
Preceded by | Odell Horton |
Succeeded by | James Dale Todd |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee | |
In office June 7, 1983 – August 2, 2002 | |
Appointed by | Ronald Reagan |
Preceded by | Harry W. Wellford |
Succeeded by | J. Daniel Breen |
Personal details | |
Born | Pulaski, Tennessee | December 23, 1950
Spouse(s) | Bill Gibbons |
Education | Vanderbilt University (BA) University of Virginia School of Law (JD) |
Education and career
Gibbons grew up in the rural Tennessee town of Pulaski. Gibbons received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in 1972 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1975.[1] After graduation, she served as a law clerk to Sixth Circuit Judge William Ernest Miller. She was in private practice from 1976 to 1979 before joining Governor Lamar Alexander's staff as a legal advisor in 1979. In 1981, she left the Governor's staff to become a state trial judge in Tennessee.[2]
Federal judicial service
District Court service
In 1997, Gibbons sentenced Alice Marie Johnson to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Gibbons was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on April 12, 1983, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee vacated by Judge Harry W. Wellford. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 6, 1983, and received commission on June 7, 1983. She served as Chief Judge from 1994 to 2000. Her service terminated on August 2, 2002, due to elevation to the Sixth Circuit.[2] In 2003, she discussed her views on women in the judiciary at a University of Virginia School of Law event.[3]
Court of Appeals service
Gibbons was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 9, 2001, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated by Judge Gilbert S. Merritt Jr. She was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 95 to 0 on July 29, 2002,[4] and received commission on July 31, 2002.[2] Gibbons was the first judge nominated to the Sixth Circuit by Bush and confirmed by the Senate.
Personal
Her husband, Bill Gibbons, is the former District Attorney General of Shelby County, Tennessee, the county that contains Memphis. Bill Gibbons was a 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate for the state of Tennessee.
References
- "Gibbons, Julia Smith – Federal Judicial Center".
- "Gibbons, Julia Smith – Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
- Wood, M. (30 September 2003). "Women Stronger Than Ever in the Judiciary, Panel Says". Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 107th Congress – 2nd Session". www.senate.gov.
External links
- Julia Smith Gibbons at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
Legal offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Harry W. Wellford |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee 1983–2002 |
Succeeded by J. Daniel Breen |
Preceded by Odell Horton |
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee 1994–2000 |
Succeeded by James Dale Todd |
Preceded by Gilbert S. Merritt Jr. |
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit 2002–present |
Incumbent |