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# James (Jim) Gibson

Columbia County Justice Court · Municipal or Justice Court Judge (Elected)

## Profile

- Court: Columbia County Justice Court
- State: Oregon
- Role: Municipal or Justice Court Judge (Elected)
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-27

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### electronic devices recording

Scope: statewide

Oregon OJD guidance under UTCR 3.180 requires advance permission from the judge or court designee before electronic notes, courtroom recording, or electronic transmission from the courtroom.

Evidence excerpt: you need advance permission from the judge or court designee before you

[Oregon Judicial Department: Media Coverage at the Courts](https://www.courts.oregon.gov/news/pages/covering-courts.aspx)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### recording limits

Scope: statewide

Oregon OJD guidance lists proceedings and materials where recording is not allowed, including juvenile cases, many family-law cases, voir dire, private conversations, jurors, and recesses.

Evidence excerpt: Recording is never allowed for

[Oregon Judicial Department: Media Coverage at the Courts](https://www.courts.oregon.gov/news/pages/covering-courts.aspx)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### remote hearing platform

Scope: statewide

Oregon OJD states that remote hearings use Webex and that the court provides case participants with the link to join the hearing.

Evidence excerpt: The court uses Webex to host these remote hearings and will provide case participants with the link to join the hearing.

[Oregon Judicial Department: Remote Hearings](https://www.courts.oregon.gov/services/online/Pages/RemoteHearings.aspx)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### remote public access

Scope: statewide

Oregon OJD explains that eligible remote hearings may be live-streamed for public viewing through Webex Events, subject to limitations and court access instructions.

Evidence excerpt: If the remote hearing is eligible for public viewing, it will be live-streamed through Webex Events

[Oregon Judicial Department: Remote Hearings](https://www.courts.oregon.gov/services/online/Pages/RemoteHearings.aspx)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### livestream access

Scope: statewide

Oregon OJD publishes live stream access instructions and states that live streaming begins shortly before scheduled proceedings.

Evidence excerpt: Live streaming of proceedings begins approximately five minutes before the scheduled proceeding time.

[Oregon Judicial Department: Live Stream Proceedings](https://www.courts.oregon.gov/services/online/Pages/live-stream.aspx)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/pages/other-courts.aspx)
- [Official roster](https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/pages/other-courts.aspx)
- [Oregon Judicial Department official judicial roster](https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/pages/other-courts.aspx)
- [Oregon Judicial Department: Media Coverage at the Courts](https://www.courts.oregon.gov/news/pages/covering-courts.aspx)
- [Oregon Judicial Department: Remote Hearings](https://www.courts.oregon.gov/services/online/Pages/RemoteHearings.aspx)
- [Oregon Judicial Department: Live Stream Proceedings](https://www.courts.oregon.gov/services/online/Pages/live-stream.aspx)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Afterward, he continued as a certificated trial justice until 1978 and then resumed private practice in Hudson Falls
- After the war, he returned to legal practice before being elected to the New York Supreme Court (4th District) in 1952, and re-elected in 1966
- Joined the Appellate Division, Third Department in 1956 and became Presiding Justice in 1964
- In 1935, Gibson was elected District Attorney of Washington County, a position previously held by his father, becoming the state’s youngest prosecutor at the time

### Education



### Additional information

- Elected unopposed later that year and served until reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 1972.
- This decision was upheld by the New York Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review it, effectively leaving his ruling in place On September 15, 1969, Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller appointed Gibson to the New York Court of Appeals to fill the vacancy left by Kenneth Keating.
- He gained national recognition for his 1964 ruling that the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance did not violate the constitutional separation of church and state.
- James Gibson was born in 1902 in Salem, Washington County, New York.
- Known for his sharp intellect and rigorous courtroom demeanor, often exposing weaknesses in counsel’s arguments—a practice colloquially referred to as “Gibsonizing”.
- During World War II, he held the role of a captain in the United States Army in Europe.
- He came from a family with a strong legal tradition: his father held the role of a judge on the New York State Court of Claims, and his great-grandfather was a county judge.

