Speaker Biography The Honorable Michael P. Gibbons
State of Nevada Court of Appeals
Chief Judge Michael P. Gibbons was selected as a judge of the inaugural Nevada Court of Appeals by Governor Brian Sandoval in December 2014. He has been elected and re-elected since then. He also served as the first Chief Judge for the court from 2015-2017 and has been appointed Chief two more times.
Judge Gibbons had served as a District Judge for twenty years at the time of his appointment to the Court of Appeals. He was elected to the Ninth Judicial District Court in Minden in 1994 and was reelected four consecutive times. He presided over every type of district court case including criminal, civil, guardianship, probate and trusts, juvenile and family matters. While serving as a district court judge, the Nevada Supreme Court appointed Judge Gibbons to hear cases in districts throughout the state including nine appointments to Clark County.
Judge Gibbons has a lengthy record of service to the bench and bar having been elected President of the Nevada District Judges’ Association in 2004 and 2005; and serving eight years on the Nevada Committee on Judicial Ethics and Election Practices; and fourteen years on the Nevada Court Improvement Project for Children; and six years on the governing board of trustees of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, where he received the President's Award in 2008. Since joining the Court of Appeals, he served on the Nevada Supreme Court’s Guardianship Commission helping to create the Bill of Rights for persons subject to a guardianship. He is one of the few District Judges to have ever received the Outstanding Achievement Award in judicial education from the Nevada Supreme Court.
Judge Gibbons also sought to help the vulnerable as a judge through legislation and court programs. He was a founding board member of the Nevada State CASA Association (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children) and a co-founder of the Douglas County SAFE Program (Special Advocates for Elders).
Judge Gibbons began his legal career in Nevada in 1980 as a law clerk for District Judge Howard D. McKibben. He was named a Douglas County Deputy District Attorney in 1981 and was promoted to Chief Criminal Deputy in 1984. He prosecuted many high-profile criminal cases and became known as a champion for victim rights.
Judge Gibbons received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and his law degree from the University of Idaho College of Law. Judge Gibbons was the only member of his law school class to be selected both as an editor of the Law Review and for the Moot Court Team to compete in the northwest regional competition.
Judge Gibbons was a certified youth soccer coach for ten years including coaching in an international tournament in Holland in 2008. He has been a certified soccer referee for over twenty years and continues in that capacity in high school, youth, and adult leagues. He was named Carson Valley Citizen of the Year in 2007 in part for his support of youth athletics. He lives in Gardnerville, is married, and has three daughters and three grandsons.