POCATELLO — Comparing court cases to baseball, the incoming 6th District Judge in Bannock County is looking forward to calling balls and strikes instead of arguing them.

Javier Gabiola, a 48-year-old Pocatello resident and Kuna transplant, will officially replace retiring 6th District Judge Stephen Dunn on March 27 during his investiture ceremony at the Bannock County Courthouse. After specializing in litigation, personal injury and insurance defense in private practices for the last 24 years, Gabiola is ready for the challenge of being Southeast Idaho’s newest interpreter of the law.

“Being a judge will be certainly different than advocating for one of the parties, but I’m excited and looking forward to the opportunity,” Gabiola told the Idaho State Journal during a recent interview. “I’m looking forward to calling balls and strikes, being impartial and listening to both parties and their attorneys objectively and deciding how the case should unfold or be resolved.”

When Gov. Brad Little announced Gabiola will become the newest district judge in Bannock County on Feb. 6, he said, “Gabiola’s extensive experience and knowledge of Idaho’s laws make him an ideal candidate to serve the 6th Judicial District.”

After graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Idaho in 1993, Gabiola received his law degree from UI in 1996.

“My interest in law started while pursuing my undergraduate degree,” Gabiola said. “I majored in political science, but really what got me was there was a magistrate judge up in Latah County, William Hamlett, who taught a law course to undergraduates and it was just really interesting to me. After I took that course my junior year, I knew I was going to study and eventually practice law.”

Gabiola passed the bar in 1996 and got his first job as a public defender for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Gabiola brings to the bench over two decades of law experience, working in part with local attorney Doug Balfour as well as the Hawley Troxell and Cooper and Larsen firms in Pocatello.

The logic and deduction aspects of law coupled with the clients he’s served over the years has been what’s kept him so dedicated to his craft, Gabiola said.

“I have to say we have had some amazing clients over at Copper and Larsen over the years, but the research aspect of law has always been fascinating to me,” Gabiola said. “I have always loved reading, which is a plus in this profession. But putting time into learning about a new legal concept or getting up to speed on the nuances of new rulings really interests me as well.”

Though his family still lives in the Treasure Valley, Gabiola said practicing law in Southeast Idaho has been a blessing, both because of the smaller towns and the close proximity for outdoor recreating.

“I very much enjoy this side of the state; hands down the 6th District is the most wonderful place to live and to be practicing law,” Gabiola said. “I love the Treasure Valley, but Pocatello is just the right size for me. I appreciate the slower pace of things and all the outdoor activities, particularly the fly fishing.”

As someone who primarily worked civil cases as a practicing attorney, Gabiola said as a judge he won’t have the choice to pick and choose what cases he’s assigned, yet Gabiola is confident he can effectively handle any case, be it civil or criminal.

In terms of what makes him the most qualified for the position, Gabiola was careful not to position himself above any of the other people who applied for the position. In the most general sense, he said Gov. Little must have just liked his skill set the most.

“I have to say that the other applicants were very well qualified and I was honored to have been selected,” he said. “I was certainly in very good company so I’m not sure how the governor ultimately decided to pick me other than I had the qualifications that he liked the most.”

While practicing law has, like virtually every other career field, changed significantly because of technological advancements, Gabiola said his research process still blends some the old-fashioned with the new digitally driven methods.

“It’s an amalgam,” Gabiola said about what goes into researching a case. “The brick-and-mortar law libraries are quickly becoming antiquated in the sense that online legal research services like Lexis and Westlaw are the new norm. I had to learn how to do research both ways using both mediums but today I almost exclusively conduct research online and then print case examples off to read.”

In staying humble about his appointment, Gabiola made sure it was known that he is only being lent the opportunity to serve in the 6th District, in that there were judges to serve before him and that when he dies or decides to retire he, too, will be replaced.

Gabiola understands his time as a judge is not indefinite and he’s looking forward to making a name for himself as a judge that serves fairly and does his best to serve the citizens of Southeast Idaho with honor and integrity.

“I will not be a judge forever and frankly the good people of the 6th District and the state of Idaho really are lending me this position to be a judge until I pass away or retire and I am there as an official for them,” Gabiola said. “As anything in life it’s always fleeting so I truly look at this as I have this position for limited time and I look forward to serving the people in our great community.”