San Bernardino nonprofit director Pablo Ramirez and Superior Judges Thomas Garza and Brian McCarville were honored by a county bar association March 6.
The Western San Bernardino County Bar Association found Garza to be the Judicial Officer of the Year, McCarville to be worthy of the Judicial Lifetime Achievement Award, and Ramirez deserving of the Mitchell Roth Service Award.
In the most humble night of the year, the recipients spoke higher of one another than themselves, and focused their speeches on service.
The 15th Annual Judicial Awards Ceremony was held at Ontario’s DoubleTree by Hilton.
Pablo Ramirez
Attorney Joyce Holcomb introduced the Mitchell Roth Service Award for Ramirez. The two attorneys had met when Ramirez came to the Legal Aid Society of San Bernardino in 2020, as executive director.
The nonprofit Legal Aid Society provides legal services and education to residents of the Inland Empire that they might otherwise be financially barred from accessing.
He grew the staff from seven to 38, modernized its document filing services, multiplied the budget and implemented staff-protection protocols, Holcomb said.
He also volunteers with the Lions Club of Colton, the Board of the Legal Aid Association of California; the One Justice Advisory Board; the Design Thinking Advisory Board at the University of California, Riverside; the Community Benefits Initiative Committee at Dignity Health; the San Bernardino County Bar Association; gang diversion programs; and homeless shelters.
“This man is a superstar,” Holcomb concluded.
“I don’t like attention, that’s not what I do,” Ramirez began, before congratulating McCarville and Garza. He thanked his family for their support, calling their faith in him his guiding light.
“This recognition reflects not only my journey, but the collective spirit of a community who values access to justice for all. It serves as a powerful reminder of the critical importance of shared mission. A mission that Mitchell Roth championed with every fiber of his being,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez went on to encourage attorneys to volunteer with the Legal Aid Society.
“We have a unique opportunity to be a spirit of change,” Pablo said.
“Let’s strive to create a legacy that five generations will look on with honor,” he concluded.
Brian McCarville
McCarville graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, then from the University of La Verne in 1979. He practiced civil law before becoming a Supervising Deputy District Attorney in 1980. Gov. George Deukmejian appointed him to the municipal court in 1989, and Gov. Pete Wilson appointed him to the superior court in 1995.
He has lectured at the California District Attorneys Association, taught felony sentencing at the California Judicial College. He has handled family law, the civil calendar and criminal cases. He is currently assigned to handle civil cases.
San Bernardino Superior Judge John Pacheco introduced McCarville.
“(McCarville) has shown the highest standards of judicial excellence,” he said.
He is the go-to guy for the difficult trials because of his good understanding of the law and his commitment to following it, Pacheco said.
“(McCarville) treats everyone with fairness. He’s got a great mind. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone over to pick your mind about certain issues that I may have, and try to get some type of knowledge from him,” Pacheco said.
McCarville began by congratulating Ramirez and Garza, and said the work he’s done over the last 34 years has paled in comparison to his wife’s career as a registered nurse and hospital administrator.
“We need everyone congratulated. I don’t have anything else to say,” McCarville said.
Thomas Garza
Garza was born in Santa Monica, and grew up in San Bernardino. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, and then the Western State College of Law in 1993. He practiced with his father, Florentino Garza, Pacheco and current-Assmemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-Colton), before being appointed to the court by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007.
He’s been involved with the First Presbyterian Church, San Bernardino; on the Board of Directors for the San Bernardino County Bar Association; San Bernardino County Bar Association Legal Aid, Redlands; UCLA alumni associations; on the board of directors for Goodwill, San Bernardino; with the Breakfast Rotary Club of San Bernardino; Consumer Attorneys of California; American Trial Lawyers Association; American Inns of Court; the St. Bernardine Medical Center Board of Trustees, Inland Empire Hispanic Leadership Council and Redlands High School’s Aquatics Booster Club.
He currently handles civil cases.
Attorney Bill Shapiro introduced Garza.
“He is his own person, he has been a phenomenal attorney, and for the last 17 years he has been an incredible judge who has made some tough calls. And, I might add, who’s been in trial nearly every day for the last two years,” Shapiro said.
He went on to say Garza has been an incredible father, and shared Garza’s true ambition as a kid: to be a stuntman.
“I’m honored to be on the same stage as the both of you,” Garza said in reference to Ramirez and McCarville.
“I am humbled and grateful for this award, but I believe others deserve it more,” he said.
“The judges in this county work really hard—they really care,” he continued.
He thanked court staff and the other judges for their work and their sense of humor on the days he wanted to jump out a window.
He ended by thanking his family.
“They make me a better judge, but more importantly they make me a better person,” Garza concluded.
