James Harold Thompson

James Harold Thompson was born on August 16, 1927. He served with the U.S. Army as a warrant officer during the Korean War before entering the legal profession. In 1963, he moved with his family to Reno, the same year he was admitted to the Nevada bar, and went to work for the State of Nevada.

Thompson rose to become Chief Deputy Attorney General under Governor Robert List, and in 1980 he successfully argued the boundary dispute between California and Nevada before the United States Supreme Court. He went on to a distinguished career on the bench, serving first as a Municipal Court Judge in Reno and then, from 1981 to 1982, as District Judge for the Second Judicial District Court, Department 8, following his appointment by Governor List. In 1985 he was appointed federal bankruptcy judge for northern Nevada, a post he held until his retirement in 1994.

Beyond the courtroom, Thompson was remembered as a great historian of the country and especially of the American West, and as a charitable man respected by his colleagues and friends. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jean, and was survived by his daughter, Irene Matthews, and grandchildren, George and James.