Phil Sheridan Gibson (November 28, 1888 – April 28, 1984) was the 22nd

Chief Justice of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sac ...

for more than 24 years.

Early life and education

Gibson was born in

Grant City, Missouri Grant City is a city in, and the county seat of, Worth County, Missouri, United States. The population was 859 at the 2010 census. History Grant City was laid out in 1864. The community has the name of General Ulysses S. Grant, afterward 18th Pre ...

on November 28, 1888. He was the son of William Jesse and Mollie (Huntsman) Gibson. He attended the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

, graduating in 1912 with an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

and in 1914 with a

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

During college, he served as the secretary to the school's athletic director,

Chester Brewer Chester Leland Brewer (November 26, 1875 – April 16, 1953) was an American football, basketball, baseball, and track and field coach and athletic director. He served as the head football coach at Albion College (1899–1902), Michigan Agri ...

. In June 1914, on his graduation from law school he formed a partnership with David H. Robertson in

Mexico, Missouri , image_skyline = Audrain County Missouri Courthouse.JPG , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = The Audrain County Courthouse in downtown Mexico. , image_flag = , image_seal = ...

, and in November 1914 he was elected the Prosecuting Attorney of

Worth County, Missouri Worth County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,973. It is the smallest county in the state in population and, excluding the independent city of St. Louis, ...

. In April 1918, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Gibson was commissioned a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the 137th Infantry of the American Expeditionary Force, and later that year was posted to the front. After the war, he studied at the

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Discharged from the service in 1920, he joined his brother in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and practiced law for two years.

Legal and judicial career

In 1922, Gibson moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, establishing a practice, teaching at

Southwestern Law School Southwestern Law School is a Private university, private Law school in the United States, law school in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and enrolls nearly 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bulloc ...

, and becoming active in Democratic politics. He served as a campaign advisor to

Culbert Olson Culbert Levy Olson (November 7, 1876 – April 13, 1962) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democratic Party member, Olson was involved in Utah and California politics and was elected as the 29th governor of California from 1939 to 1943 ...

in 1938, and in December of that year the governor rewarded him with the position of Director of Finance. Then, in August 1939, Olson appointed Gibson as an associate justice to the Supreme Court of California to fill the vacant seat of

William Langdon William Henry Langdon (September 25, 1873 – August 10, 1939) was an American banker, lawyer and Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court from January 4, 1927, to August 10, 1939. Education and early career Langdon was born near Dubli ...

. Among Gibson's notable cases as an associate justice was his dissent from a contempt citation for commenting on judicial proceedings. On January 31, 1940, in a 5-2 decision by Jesse W. Curtis Sr., the court upheld the contempt ruling against the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', rejecting the argument that it had a

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

right to criticize the court. Gibson dissented, joined by Douglas L. Edmonds. Upon appeal, in a 5-4 opinion by Justice Hugo Black, the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

reversed in ''Bridges v. California''. In June 1940, Chief Justice

William H. Waste William Harrison Waste (October 31, 1868 – June 6, 1940) was the 21st Chief Justice of California. Biography Born near Chico, California, Chico, California, Waste was educated at Los Angeles High School, graduating in 1887. He graduated fro ...

died in office, and Governor Olson appointed Gibson to the position. Gibson served as chief justice from June 19, 1940, to August 30, 1964, the second longest term in that office, behind only William H. Beatty who served 25 years. At the time of Gibson's appointment, he was the second youngest Chief Justice in the court's history. In November 1940, Gibson ran successfully for re-election to a full 12-year term. Again in November 1952, he was re-elected for another 12 years. Gibson's notable cases as Chief Justice include his 1944 opinion in ''

Ybarra v. Spangard ''Ybarra v. Spangard''25 Cal.2d 486, 154 P.2d 687 (Cal.1944) was a leading case in California discussing the exclusive control element of res ipsa loquitur. "Where a plaintiff receives unusual injuries while unconscious and in the course of medic ...

'' concerning the negligence doctrine of ''

Res ipsa loquitur ''Res ipsa loquitur'' (Latin: ''"the thing speaks for itself"'') is a doctrine in the common law and Roman-Dutch law jurisdictions under which a court can infer negligence from the very nature of an accident or injury in the absence of direct evid ...

'' in torts. In 1948, he voted with the 4-3 majority in ''

Perez v. Sharp ''Perez v. Sharp'', also known as ''Perez v. Lippold'' or ''Perez v. Moroney'', is a 1948 case decided by the Supreme Court of California in which the court held by a 4–3 majority that the state's ban on interracial marriage violated the Fourteen ...

'' that the state's ban on interracial marriage violated the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. In April 1952, he wrote the decision in '' Sei Fujii v. California'' striking down the

California Alien Land Law of 1913 The California Alien Land Law of 1913 (also known as the Webb–Haney Act) prohibited "aliens ineligible for citizenship" from owning agricultural land or possessing long-term leases over it, but permitted leases lasting up to three years. It affe ...

as a violation of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. When Gibson retired on August 31, 1964, Governor

Pat Brown Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he w ...

elevated

Roger J. Traynor Roger John Traynor (February 12, 1900 – May 14, 1983) was the 23rd Chief Justice of California (1964-1970) and an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from 1940 to 1964. Previously, he had served as a Deputy Attorney General o ...

from Associate Justice to the position of Chief Justice, and Stanley Mosk filled the empty seat as associate justice. Gibson's lengthy tenure was notable for his efforts to modernize the administration of the courts, to set up a mechanism to remove unfit judges, and to supply the Supreme Court with a staff of research attorneys. Gibson's court was highly respected nationally, both for Gibson's opinions and for those of Traynor. Gibson died in

Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...

on April 28, 1984.

Honors and legacy

In May 1946, he was on a short list of possible appointments by President

Harry S Truman Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

to become Chief Justice of the United States. In 1955, the University of Missouri conferred on Gibson an honorary

doctor of law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...

degree.

Personal life

On June 3, 1922, Gibson married Jessie Lee Parkhurst in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. After her death on September 8, 1951, he re-married to Victoria Gibson. Phil Gibson's son, Blaine, shares his name with Gibson's younger brother, and is a self-professed adventurer and explorer who has discovered much of the debris from

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370/MAS370) was an international passenger flight operated by Malaysia Airlines that disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to its planned destination ...

References

External links

Phil S. Gibson
California Supreme Court Historical Society.
Phil S. Gibson profile
Robert Crown Library, Stanford Law School.
Opinions authored by Phil S. Gibson
Courtlistener.com

California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017.