Benjamin F. Gibson (July 13, 1931 – January 13, 2021)[1] was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

Benjamin F. Gibson
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
In office
July 13, 1996 – January 31, 1999
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
In office
1991–1995
Preceded byDouglas Woodruff Hillman
Succeeded byRichard Alan Enslen
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
In office
September 26, 1979 – July 13, 1996
Appointed byJimmy Carter
Preceded bySeat established by 92 Stat. 1629
Succeeded bySeat abolished pursuant to 104 Stat. 5089
Personal details
Born(1931-07-13)July 13, 1931
Safford, Alabama
DiedJanuary 13, 2021(2021-01-13) (aged 89)
Gulfport, Mississippi
EducationWayne State University (BS)
Detroit College of Law (JD)

Education and career edit

Born in Safford, Alabama, Gibson was a private in the United States Army from 1948 to 1950. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Wayne State University in 1955 and a Juris Doctor from Detroit College of Law (now the Michigan State University College of Law) in 1960. He was an assistant state attorney general of Michigan from 1961 to 1963. He was an assistant prosecutor for Ingham County, Michigan from 1963 to 1964. He was in private practice in Lansing, Michigan from 1964 to 1979, and was a professor at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in Lansing from 1979 to 1980.[2]

Federal judicial service edit

On July 12, 1979, Gibson was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan created by 92 Stat. 1629. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 25, 1979, and received his commission on September 26, 1979. He served as Chief Judge from 1991 to 1995 and assumed senior status on July 13, 1996. Gibson continued to serve in that capacity until his retirement from the bench on January 31, 1999.[2]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Boldrey, Ryan (January 17, 2021). "Benjamin Gibson, first Black judge in U.S. Western District of Michigan, dies at 89". MLive.com. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Benjamin F. Gibson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Sources edit

Legal offices
Preceded by
Seat established by 92 Stat. 1629
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
1979–1996
Succeeded by
Seat abolished pursuant to 104 Stat. 5089
Preceded by Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
1991–1995
Succeeded by