Howard D. McKibben was appointed United States District Judge for the District of Nevada by President Ronald Reagan in October 1984. He was Chief Judge from December 1, 1997 until October 12, 2002. On April 1, 2005 he assumed senior status.

Judge McKibben received his bachelor of science degree in political science from Bradley University in 1962. He then attended the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and received a master’s degree in 1964. He received his J.D. degree in 1967 from the University of Michigan Law School. He was admitted to the Nevada Bar in 1968 where he was in private practice until he was elected District Attorney of Douglas County in 1970. He served as District Attorney from 1971 to 1977. Governor O’Callaghan appointed Judge McKibben to the Ninth Judicial District Court in 1977 where he served until 1984.

Judge McKibben has served as president of the Ninth Circuit District Judges Association and the Nevada District Judges Association. He has been a member of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council and was the chair of the Ninth Circuit Jury Committee. He served on the Nevada State Board of Bar Examiners for several years. Judge McKibben was a past president of the Howard D. McKibben Inn of Court, and he is one of the founders of the Bruce R. Thompson Inn of Court. He has served for many years on the faculty of the National Judicial College. Judge McKibben has participated with the American Bar Association’s Central and Eastern European Law Initiative Program and has participated in seminars in Eastern Europe. He served as chair of the Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

Judge McKibben and his wife, Mary Ann, have two children.