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
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Assumed office
July 31, 2002
Appointed byGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byGilbert S. Merritt Jr.
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
In office
1994–2000
Preceded byOdell Horton
Succeeded byJames Dale Todd
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
In office
June 7, 1983 – August 2, 2002
Appointed byRonald Reagan
Preceded byHarry W. Wellford
Succeeded byJ. Daniel Breen
Personal details
Born (1950-12-23) December 23, 1950
Pulaski, Tennessee
Spouse(s)Bill Gibbons
EducationVanderbilt University (B.A.)
University of Virginia School of Law (J.D.)

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
  1. "Gibbons, Julia Smith – Federal Judicial Center".
  2. "Gibbons, Julia Smith – Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  3. Wood, M. (30 September 2003). "Women Stronger Than Ever in the Judiciary, Panel Says". Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  4. "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 107th Congress – 2nd Session". www.senate.gov.
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
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