EAST ST. LOUIS -- U.S. Magistrate Judge Gilbert C. Sison was feted in an investiture ceremony at the Melvin Price Federal Courthouse in East St. Louis Friday afternoon.
The proceedings were held after Sisson was formally sworn in to replace Donald G. Wilkerson two months ago. Wilkerson had retired, but has since been recalled.
Sison earned his B.A. in economics and philosophy from Louisiana State University in 1995 and his J.D. from University of Washington Law School in 2000.
Following law school, Sison practiced commercial and class action litigation at Bryan Cave LLP from 2000 to 2004. He then practiced business and real estate law at Thompson Coburn LLP from 2004 to 2006. Sison transitioned to criminal defense and focused on white collar criminal defense and appeals with Rosenblum Schwartz Rogers & Glass PC from 2006 to 2015. Before he was appointed to the bench, Sison worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, where he prosecuted cases for the white collar and violent crime units.
For nearly two decades, Sison also has taught law courses at his alma mater as an adjunct professor. Sison specializes in an appellate advocacy course and also coaches the school’s Philip C. Jessup International Law moot court team. He is also a former officer and board member of the Missouri Asian-American Bar Association.
Sison was selected to serve as a magistrate judge from a pool of more than 80 applicants, according to a U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois news release. Magistrate judges are appointed by the district following a process where applicants are required to interview with a selection committee that includes attorneys and non-lawyers and interview with district judges.
At the same time that Sison was selected, Magistrate Judge Mark A. Beatty was also tabbed from the same pool of candidates to replace Stephen C. Williams. Beaty's formal swearing-in ceremony was Jan. 2, but the date of his investiture is still to be determined.
Sison and Beatty were unanimous choices by the district judges and are slated to work out of the Melvin Price Federal Courthouse.