Daily Republic

October 19, 2017

By Ryan McCarthy

 

 

Judge Garry T. Ichikawa.

Courtesy photo

 

FAIRFIELD — Judge Garry T. Ichikawa – who likes to say he was born with a shovel in one hand and a book in the other – is retiring after more than 17 years on the bench, the Solano County Superior Court said Wednesday.

 

Gov. Gray Davis appointed Ichikawa in 2000 and the judge served his judicial career in Family Law and Juvenile Law, almost always holding the positions of Presiding Juvenile Judge or Supervising Family Law Judge, the court said.

Ichikawa is the third of five generations of family who have lived and worked in Solano County, the court said.

 

His grandparents immigrated to the Suisun Valley from Japan in the early 20th century and during World War II his parents spent time in an internment camp, the court said. Returning to Solano County after World War II, they were among the first people of Japanese ancestry to be able to purchase land in Suisun Valley, the court added.

 

Ichikawa graduated from Armijo High School, the University of California, Berkeley and, after his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army, graduated from the University of California, Davis School of Law, the court said.

 

He served as a deputy public defender for two years before going into private practice, where he soon specialized in family law, the court said.

 

Ichikawa was elected to the Solano Community College governing board and was twice elected to the Fairfield City Council.

 

He helped establish many successful court programs, including Dependency Drug Court, Domestic Violence Court, Adoption Day and educational rights for foster children, the court said.

 

Ichikawa has received local, state and national recognition for his work in the justice system and the community.

 

Presiding Judge Robert C. Fracchia said in a press release about the retirement that “The best justice is local justice, grounded in community values.”

 

“As a lifelong resident of Solano County, Judge Ichikawa understands Solano County and has always acted to promote its best interest,” Fracchia said. “He has been repeatedly recognized as one of the finest juvenile and family law judges in our state and many of our best programs are a product of his vision and direction. To say he will be missed is an understatement for our court and the legal community.”

 

In the press release, Judge Ichikawa said, “I thank the community for giving me the opportunity to serve it all these years, and I dedicate those years to the memory of my parents and all others like them.”

 

“They started with very little,” he said, “and lived their lives with honor so that their children could be accepted as Americans.”

 

 http://www.dailyrepublic.com/solano-news/fairfield/judge-ichikawa-retires-from-solano-county-superior-court/