Louis D. Gibbs had been a member of the New York Supreme Court, served in the Legislature and was then elected as the first Judge of the Bronx County. Subsequently, Judge Gibbs was re-elected and his performance on the bench was so popular that he was endorsed by both parties.
Louis Dewitt Gibbs: New York Supreme Court Justice
Louis Dewitt Gibbs was born on October 16, 1880, in Lodz, Poland. He was the son of Isidor Gibbs, a merchant and his wife Pauline Greenbaum. The Gibbs family came to America when Louis was 4. They then moved to New York City in 1890. Louis grew up on the East Side of New York, where he attended public school, Cooper Union Institute and the New York Law School.
In 1906, Louis married Anna White, the daughter of New York City merchant Hyman White. He attended the Cooper Institute and New York Law School. Louis was admitted to the bar in 1907 and began a general law practice, winning recognition as a trial lawyer in all the New York City courts.
Gibbs was elected to the New York State Assembly as a Democrat, representing the New York County 32nd District. He served in the Assembly in 1913. While in the Assembly, Louis was a member of the judiciary committee. He was an advocate of modern methods in the administration of criminal law, a subject that he had frequently lectured on. Later that year, Louis became the first judge of the Bronx County Court. In 1914. An attempt was made on the Judge’s life when a bomb was placed by the courthouse exit which he regularly used. In 1913 he served in the Legislature, where he was active in legislation which made the Bronx a separate county in 1914.
Gibbs was a delegate to the 1924 Democratic National Convention. He was considered a strict and severe judge, and had a reputation among criminals as a tough judge. Due to his severity towards criminals brought before him and threats made against his life, he never went out without a bodyguard while a County Judge and refused to enter crowded elevators while he was a Supreme Court Justice.
Gibbs was an executive committee member of the American Jewish Congress from 1921 until his death. He was a member of the New York County Lawyers' Association, the New York State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, B'nai B'rith, the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen, and the New York Athletic Club.
Gibbs died in the Glen Springs Sanitarium in Watkins Glen, where he had been staying for three weeks for treatment due to his poor health. On March 1, 1929, Gibbs was still sitting on the Supreme Court when he died. Over 1,500 people attended his funeral. He had been ill for several months and death was caused by heart disease. He was 48 years old. Gibbs was buried at Mount Hebron Cemetery, He leaves his wife Anna and his children Isadora Frances, Harriet and Howard Jefferson.
Flags on the Bronx and New York County Supreme Court buildings were lowered to half-staff when the death of the Supreme Court was made public. Joseph V. McKee, president of the New York Board of Aldermen, said: “The state has lost an eminent jurist and the City of New York has lost a citizen whose life was devoted to public service.”
Justice Gibbs had been a member of the New York Supreme Court since January 1, 1925. In 1913 he served in the Legislature, where he was active in legislation which made the Bronx a separate county in 1914 and was then elected the first judge of Bronx County Subsequently Judge Gibbs was re-elected and so popular was his performance on the bench that he was indorsed by both parties.
~Blog by Renee Meyers
