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• Author: Mark Thompson/Elizabeth Smith
• Pages: 397-407

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Profiles Ichikawa387

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ICHIKAWA, Garry T.

Temperament/Demeanor

Judge Ichikawa “has great temperament,” said one of the

attorneys interviewed about him. Another said he is “very

nice,” while a third interviewee said, “He had very good tem-

perament. There was no issue about that.” Other attorneys

said he is rather quiet and unassuming in court, and isn’t

one to make waves. “I would say that is consistent with his

personality. He tends to be very cerebral. He tends to be a

little remote in that way,” one interviewee explained. Another

said, “He is somewhat emotionally detached. I would say

he is somewhat distant.” A sixth interviewee said Judge

Ichikawa “is more aloof than some judges. I have heard him

called a minimalist, which is probably unfair. He addresses

the issues that are properly before him, and I think he does

it thoughtfully.”

Intelligence/Knowledge

Judge Ichikawa is “very, very smart,” said one attorney,

who noted that he was a deputy public defender and then

went into family law before he became a judge. Another said,

“He is a smart guy. He takes his job very seriously. He does

a lot of preparation for his work.” A third interviewee said,

“He is a very brilliant person. He is highly academic and

very experienced in the areas of the law. I have nothing but

good things to say about him. He is excellent.” A family law

practitioner who had a number of cases before him when

he was assigned to a family law department added, “He was

certainly bright enough. He was very knowledgeable about

family law. He was a family law specialist, and he has a

wealth of knowledge.”

On Motions

Attorneys interviewed about Judge Ichikawa said he is

not one to go out on a limb to make a legal ruling. “His per-

sonality is conservative, so he is much more likely to believe

police officers. It’s not necessarily a law-and-order thing. It

is just a natural tendency on his part to believe what the

police have to say,” explained one attorney who has defended

juveniles in his court. Another defense attorney said, “I have

seen him do courageous things a handful of times, but he

is too laissez-faire. I think he is a fair man, but he would be

a better judge if he would more forcefully make decisions

in hard cases.” A family law practitioner recalled getting a

“really good ruling” from him on a motion for spousal sup-

port. “I don’t think I was thrilled with it at the time, but as

time went on, I was really pleased,” said the attorney, who

recalled that he had a clever way of dealing with support

issues in divorce cases. “I think of him as being one of those

who would kind of allow someone some leeway, and then, if

they didn’t take advantage of it, they would show their true

colors,” the attorney explained. “He would make temporary

orders, and if the person was going to behave appropriately

and follow through, it would show up. But if they didn’t,

that, too, would become apparent. It is called giving them

enough rope.”

On Trial

Attorneys with trial experience before Judge Ichikawa

had no complaints about how he handled the proceedings.

“I have been in a trial in front of him, and I thought he

was really fair,” said one. “I did an adult criminal trial in

his court and I thought he was really fair. He gave my guy,

who was an ex-police officer, a very fair hearing.” Another

defense attorney said, “He is very easy to deal with. He is

very professional. In terms of demeanor in trial, there is

never a problem with Judge Ichikawa. He doesn’t let his

emotions show, even if other judges might. He is very con-

trolled in that way.” A family practitioner added, “I had him

in contested hearings and I had him in a trial. I really dis-

agreed with one ruling that he made. I don’t know why he

did it that way. But he was patient, he listened and he was

appropriate. There was a pro per on the other side. As far

as I was concerned, he ruled in the pro per’s favor. But he

listened. Then he made his decision. It was a custody issue.

It was a dad on the other side, and he certainly supported

the dad’s time with the kids. But I don’t remember anything

that stands out in terms of that.”

Continuances

Judge Ichikawa is “very, very reasonable on continu-

ances,” one interviewee said. Another said, “Nothing sticks

out in my mind about him with regard to continuances. I’m

sure, based on the way he is, that he is open to granting a

continuance, if you can lay out a good foundation and show

good cause.”

Settlement

Judge Ichikawa is “pretty good at helping settle cases,”

one interviewee said. Another said, “He tries to work for

solutions. He tries to find common ground.” Two other

interviewees said he is not inclined to get personally

involved in settlement negotiations. “He is much more

desirous of the litigants solving cases, and often, that just

doesn’t happen,” said one interviewee, who wished that he

would play a more active role. Another attorney agreed,

saying, “He is very reluctant to get involved in making

a settlement.” One other interviewee said, “I remember

being in chambers in settlement conferences with him. I

remember one case in particular. He settled it and he got

a settlement. But I’m not really remembering what role

he played.”

Proclivities

Judge Ichikawa “is very conservative, not just politically,

but in the way he approaches his job,” said one interviewee,

who added, “For the last few years, he has been mostly

doing dependency cases, so I haven’t been in front of him a

lot in the last several years. Occasionally, on juvenile cases

involving criminal matters, I have had him. In those cases

involving criminal matters, he does tend to be very conser-

vative.” Another criminal defense attorney said, “I don’t hear

any complaints from prosecutors or the defense bar about

him.” A third interviewee said, “He is okay, but he’s off in

his own little world. He is less likely to do anything out of

the ordinary. It’s not that he is conservative. It’s just that

he’s kind of by-the-book.” A family law practitioner agreed

that he is “cautious,” but added, “I always thought he was

a very good judge. I had no issue with him.” Another family

law practitioner said, “We have some judges, especially in

family court, who seem to want to run everybody’s lives and

manage the minutia of their lives. Judge Ichikawa doesn’t

want to do that. I saw an example recently before him where

somebody complained that they had not received their

child support on time. This was a case with two lawyers.

This was not before the court. It was not an enforcement

motion. It was just a whining complaint, and his response

was to the effect that, ‘Come on, I’m not going to deal with

that. You have a court order, there is a wage order issued,

it is required to be obeyed, and you have remedies if it’s

not obeyed. Next. Let’s move on.’ Again, it was not a motion

before him. It was just somebody pointing out something

that irritated them,” said the attorney, who regarded the

judge’s reluctance to intervene in that case as appropri-

ate, under the circumstances. A fifth interviewee said, “I

wouldn’t give him a rave review, but I don’t have any strong

complaints, either.”

Summary

Judge Ichikawa is conservative in his outlook, to a cer-

tain extent, but he is even more conservative in terms of his

personality, said several of the attorneys who were inter-

viewed about him. As a result, he tends to take a standoffish

approach to cases that come before him. He is, thus, not

one to go out on a limb and make a bold ruling in a case. He

is also, by the account of several attorneys, not inclined to

actively intervene in an attempt to settle cases. But he is very

smart and competent. While none of the attorneys who were

interviewed about him gave him rave reviews, none offered

any strong complaints, either. (12A)

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