Ernest W. Gibson III

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Ernest W. Gibson III
State's Attorney of Windham County, Vermont
In office
1957–1961
Preceded byJohn S. Burgess
Succeeded byJohn A. Rocray
Personal details
Born
Ernest Willard Gibson III

(1927-09-23)September 23, 1927
Vermont Army National Guard
Battles/warsWorld War II
Korean War

Ernest Willard Gibson III (September 23, 1927 – May 17, 2020) was an attorney and judge who served as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.

Early life

Ernest Willard Gibson III was born in

United States senator.[2]

Start of career

Gibson graduated from

Judge Advocate General branch before retiring in 1971.[5][6]

Political career

A

state's attorney for Windham County from 1957 to 1961.[3] He was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1960 and 1962. Gibson served one full term and part of another, 1961 to 1963, and he was appointed chairman of the Judiciary Committee in 1963.[3] In the House, Gibson joined a group known as the "Young Turks", members who worked for the passage of progressive legislation regardless of party affiliation; the Young Turks were instrumental in ending the Republican Party's 100-year grip on statewide power by electing Philip H. Hoff as governor in 1962.[7]

Gibson was Chairman of the Vermont Public Service Board from 1963 to 1972.[8]

Judicial career

In 1972, Gibson was appointed a judge of the Vermont Superior Court, and he served until 1983.[8]

In 1983, Justice Franklin S. Billings Jr. of the Vermont Supreme Court was appointed as chief justice.[9] Gibson was nominated to replace Billings as an Associate Justice,[9] and took office on February 11, 1983.[10] He served on the court until retiring on July 31, 1997.[11]

Controversy

Main article: Vermont vs Hunt (1982)

In 1986 and 1987, Gibson and two other justices, William C. Hill and Thomas L. Hayes, were accused of misconduct, alleged to have tailored decisions to suit the wishes of an assistant judge in Chittenden County, and to have helped her cover up padding her pay; the assistant judge, Jane Wheel, was supposed to be wielding undue influence over the justices.[12] Hill retired, and Hayes died before the charges could be resolved.[12] (Wheel was convicted on charges arising from the case; Hill was found to have violated rules regarding judicial conduct.)[13] Gibson was overwhelmingly reappointed to the Supreme Court in March 1987, and in July 1987, Vermont's Judicial Conduct Board dropped the charges against him.[12]

Later career

In January 1997, Gibson administered the oath of office to Howard Dean, who had been reelected as governor in 1996.[14] Gibson served until reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70, and was succeeded by Marilyn Skoglund.[15]

Personal life

Gibson was Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont from 1977 to 1998 and President of the Board of Trustees of the Diocese from 1991 to 1998.[16] In 1960 he married Charlotte Elaine Hungerford.[17] They were the parents of three children: Margaret,[18] Mary,[19] and John.[20] He died in Northfield, Vermont on May 17, 2020,[6] and was buried at Morningside Cemetery in Brattleboro.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Ernest W. Gibson III in Vermont, Birth Records, 1909-2008".
  2. ^ a b "Judge Gibson to be Buried Friday in Brattleboro".
  3. ^ a b c d e Vermont Legislative Directory, 1969.
  4. ^ a b Barnabas Davis (1599–1685) and His Descendants.
  5. ^ Army National Guard Register.
  6. ^ a b "Obituary: Ernest W. Gibson III".
  7. ^ Philip Hoff: How Red Turned Blue in the Green Mountain State.
  8. ^ a b "Tribute to David A. Gibson".
  9. ^ a b "Gibson Named to Court".
  10. ^ "Swearing In". The Brattleboro Reformer. February 11, 1983.
  11. ^ "Justice Ernest Gibson III retiring". The Brattleboro Reformer. July 1, 1997.
  12. ^ a b c "High Court Drops Charges Against Gibson".
  13. ^ "Former Vermont Supreme Court Justice Found in Violation of Conduct Rules".
  14. ^ "Dean Wants Action This Term".
  15. ^ "1997 Was Year of Woman".
  16. ^ Vermont Legislative Directory, 1995.
  17. ^ " Ernest W. Gibson III and Charlotte Elaine Hungerford in California Marriage Index, 1960-1985".
  18. ^ "Margaret Grace Gibson in Vermont, Birth Records, 1909-2008".
  19. ^ "Mary Helen Gibson in Vermont, Birth Records, 1909-2008".
  20. ^ "John Willard Gibson in Vermont, Birth Records, 1909-2008".
  21. ^ "Ernest W. Gibson III Obituary".

Sources

Internet

Newspapers

Books

Magazines
Legal offices
Preceded by Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
1983–1997 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
John D. Paterson
 Chairman of the
Vermont Public Service Board

1963–1972 		Succeeded by
William Gilbert
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