Kim R. Gibson
Kim Richard Gibson (born 1948) is a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Kim Richard Gibson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania | |
| Assumed office June 3, 2016 | |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania | |
| In office September 23, 2003 – June 3, 2016 | |
| Appointed by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | D. Brooks Smith |
| Succeeded by | Nicholas Ranjan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kim Richard Gibson 1948 (age 71–72) Trenton, New Jersey |
| Education | United States Military Academy (B.S.) Dickinson School of Law (J.D.) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  |
| Branch/service |  |
| Years of service | 1970 – 1996 |
| Rank |  |
| Unit | Judge Advocate General's Corps, United States Army |
Early career
Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Gibson received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1970, and a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the Dickinson School of Law, (now known as Pennsylvania State University - Dickinson Law), in 1975. He was an editor of the Dickinson Law Review. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army in June 1970 and following completion of airborne and ranger training, he served as an armor officer until October 1975 and as a JAG officer until August 1978. Following his release from active duty he continued to serve in the United States Army Reserve and retired as a Colonel, JAG, USAR in 1996. In 1991, he and his JAG Detachment were activated during the first Gulf War.
Gibson was in private practice as a sole practitioner in Somerset, Pennsylvania, from 1978 through 1997. During that time he served as a public defender, attorney for Children and Youth Services, solicitor for a school district and various municipalities and as solicitor for Somerset County.
State judicial career
He was elected to the Somerset County Court of Common Pleas in 1997. During his time on the common pleas bench, he was instrumental in establishing Victim Impact Panels and Juvenile Drug Court (only the second such court in Pennsylvania).
Federal judicial service
On April 28, 2003, Gibson was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania vacated by D. Brooks Smith. Gibson was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 23, 2003, and received his commission the following day.[1] Gibson assumed senior status on June 3, 2016.
In April 2017, Gibson was reversed by the unanimous United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit after he rejected the claims under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution made by the parents of a mentally ill prisoner who had committed suicide after being segregated into solitary confinement.[2][3]
References
- Pres. Nom. 540, 108th Cong. (2003).
- Note, Recent Case: Third Circuit Holds Parents of Mentally Ill Young Man Held in Solitary Confinement Stated Claims of Cruel and Unusual Punishment, 131 Harv. L. Rev. 1481 (2018).
- Palakovicv v. Wetzel, No.3:14-145,2015 (W.D. Pa. June 26, 2015).
External links
- Kim R. Gibson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by D. Brooks Smith |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania 2003–2016 |
Succeeded by Nicholas Ranjan |