Superior Court remembers Judge Ralph W. Wyatt for his kindness, thirst for knowledge

by The Bakersfield Californian

Former Kern County Superior Court Ralph W. Wyatt was appointed to his position by former Gov. Jerry Brown.

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Kern County Superior Court recalled Judge Ralph W. Wyatt, who died last month, as a man who inspired people and whose proudest achievement was securing public access to local bodies of water.

Wyatt died Tuesday. The cause of his death was not disclosed. His age was not immediately available.

“Judge Wyatt encouraged, inspired and counseled everyone who knew him,” the court stated in a news release.

He began working as a court commissioner in 2008, when he presided over probate, guardianship and conservatorship cases. Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Wyatt to become a judge after Judge Jon E. Stuebbe retired in 2014, and soon the new judge was presiding over jury trials.

“His exacting standards and high expectations earned him the nickname ‘The Technician’ from the attorneys who practiced in his courtroom,” according to a news release.

Wyatt earned his law degree from the California Western School of Law in 1974 and worked as an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of San Diego before moving to Kern County. He worked as a public defender from 1975 to 1981 and as an associate and partner at several law firms before he took the bench.

His greatest achievement was to secure public access to the Kern River from Lake Ming to the mouth of the canyon. That path was a walk he took nearly every day, a news release said.

But it was his personality that Superior Court remembered most: Wyatt loved sharing knowledge cultivated from a decades-long law career with young attorneys whose first stop may have included his courtroom, a news release said.

“His judicial colleagues remember him as a deep thinker with an incredible thirst for knowledge,” Superior Court continued in a news release. “Court staff remember the kindness, patience and respect he showed every day.”

Wyatt is survived by his wife, two sons and grandchildren.

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Superior Court remembers Judge Ralph W. Wyatt for his kindness, thirst for knowledge