---
title: "Julia Smith Gibbons | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/julia-smith-gibbons"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# Julia Smith Gibbons

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- State: National federal courts
- Role: U.S. Circuit Judge
- Service status: senior
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

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

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2002-present
- 2002–2024: Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, appointed by President George W. Bush; confirmed 95–0 in the Senate
- Judge, District Court, W.D. Tennessee, 1983-2002
- 1983–2002: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, appointed by President Ronald Reagan; held the role of Chief Judge 1994–2000
- Judge, Tennessee Circuit Court, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Division VI, 1981-1983
- 1981–1983: Judge, Tennessee Circuit Court, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit — first woman trial judge in Tennessee’s 185-year history
- Law clerk, Hon. William E. Miller, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 1975-1976
- 1975–1976: Law clerk to Hon. William E. Miller, 6th Circuit
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

### Education


### Additional information

- Gibbons took senior status on September 17, 2024, after 22 years on the Sixth Circuit.
- Recipient of the Devitt Award (2021) for significant contributions to the administration of justice
- Lamar Alexander, TN, 1979-1981
- 1979–1981: Legal advisor to Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander
- Private practice, Memphis, TN, 1976-1979
- B.A. magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University in 1972, elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1975, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif and edited the Virginia Law Review.
- Gibbons grew up in Pulaski, TN, graduating valedictorian from Giles County High School in 1968.
- Date of birth: 1950-01-01
- Legal advisor, Gov.
- Succeeded on the appellate court by Kevin G. Ritz.
- Gibbons is celebrated for her legal acumen, leadership, and commitment to diversity and opportunity in the federal courts.
- Birth place: Pulaski, TN

## 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

### appellate oral argument

Scope: courtwide

In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation.

Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary

[Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381171)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381171)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381171)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1187/julia-smith-gibbons/)
- [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1187/julia-smith-gibbons/)
- [Wikidata: Julia Smith Gibbons](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6306743)

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