Hon. James G. McGiffin, Jr. is a judge for the Family Court in Kent County, Delaware. He was nominated to the Family Court by former Governor Jack Markell and then later confirmed by the Delaware State Senate in 2016. He filled the vacancy created by the retirement of William J. Walls, Jr. (Ret.).
McGiffin received a B.A. in music from the University of North Texas in 1982. He went on to earn a J.D. from Boston College of Law in 1985.
At the time of his nomination, he was a senior staff attorney with Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. and also served as counsel to the Delaware State Senate Majority Caucus. While at the Legal Aid Society, McGiffin held several positions including serving as its executive director from 1998 to 2005.
In addition to his work at the Legal Aid Society, he also served as a court commissioner with the Family Court after receiving an appointment to the position by former Governor Tom Carper in 1994. He continued in that capacity until 1998.
McGiffin was a commissioner on the Dover Human Relations Commission and served as a Dover City Councilman (2006 to 2011).
A music lover and amateur musician, McGiffin was a member of the Dover Symphony, Holy Cross Chamber Ensemble, Celtic Harvest, and the Americana band, Covered Bridge. He also contributed his musical talents to help raise money for various charitable projects including helping to create a biennial musical comedy fundraiser for the Combined Campaign for Justice, which featured a troupe of Delaware lawyers and was the executive producer of two albums to benefit the Community Legal Aid Society, Inc.
McGiffin is a past-president of the Delaware State Bar Association (2011 to 2012).
He received the Monsignor Taggart Award from the Delaware St. Thomas More Society (2016), the New Lawyer Distinguished Service Award from the Delaware State Bar Association, and the Community Builder Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice.
McGiffin was born in Topeka, Kansas, and raised in Fairfax, Virginia. He moved to Dover, Delaware with his wife, a high school social studies teacher, and their two children in 1988.