David S. Gibson, Jr.
NV · Eighth Judicial District Court Family Division Judge, Department L
David Gibson Jr. was appointed a Clark County family court judge in 2018 and hears juvenile cases. He spent six years as a juvenile dependency hearing master handling child abuse and neglect cases.
Track record
Track record — General
General · 4 records
In the Las Vegas Review-Journal's 2025 survey of lawyers, 88.5 percent of 61 who answered recommended keeping him as a judge.
December 7, 2025
Source: reviewjournal.com
As presiding judge of the Family Court, urged residents to volunteer as court-appointed advocates (CASA) for abused and neglected children.
April 3, 2024
Source: clarkcountycourts.us
Ordered a 17-year-old accused of firing shots in a gang shootout outside a cannabis shop to be tried as an adult. He rejected the defense's self-defense argument.
August 23, 2022
Source: reviewjournal.com
Appointed by Governor Brian Sandoval to the Clark County Family Court, Department L. He had served since 2012 as a hearing master, a court officer who handled child abuse and neglect cases.
November 20, 2018
Source: news3lv.com
Track record — Legal Competence
Legal Competence · 2 favorable · 5 unfavorable
Had his decision to place a young child with her aunt, rather than her grandmother, for adoption upheld by the Nevada Supreme Court (Destin v. Eighth Judicial District Court).
August 28, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence
Source: acis-api.nvcourts.gov
Had his decision upheld 4-3 by the Nevada Supreme Court (In re A.T.). Over a prosecutor's objection, he had let a mother plead no contest to child neglect claims instead of admitting or denying them.
June 12, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence
Source: acis-api.nvcourts.gov
Had his order placing a baby with the baby's grandfather thrown out by the Nevada Supreme Court (In re J.B.). The court said he wrongly favored blood relatives over a close family friend, and it moved the case to a different judge.
June 13, 2024Unfavorable on Legal Competence
Source: acis-api.nvcourts.gov
Had his order removing a man's name from a child's birth certificate overturned by the Nevada Supreme Court. The court said he decided who the father was without notice to the man or a hearing.
September 17, 2021Unfavorable on Legal Competence
Source: acis-api.nvcourts.gov
Had his order letting a mother move her children from Arizona to Ohio reversed by the Nevada Supreme Court (Pelkola v. Pelkola). The court said he wrongly ruled she needed no permission and skipped findings the law requires.
May 27, 2021Unfavorable on Legal Competence
Source: acis-api.nvcourts.gov
Had a divorce decree he issued thrown out by the Nevada Court of Appeals. The court said he changed an earlier penalty order for not sharing evidence in the middle of trial. That unfairly hurt the wife's case, so a new trial was ordered.
August 19, 2020Unfavorable on Legal Competence
Source: acis-api.nvcourts.gov
Had part of his divorce decree reversed by the Nevada Court of Appeals. The court said he set a father's income for child support without first finding the father earned less on purpose to avoid support.
July 23, 2020Unfavorable on Legal Competence
Source: acis-api.nvcourts.gov
Past race David S. Gibson, Jr. ran in:
- District Court Judge, Family Division, Department L · November 3, 2026 · Clark County, Nevada · incumbent