Solano County Superior Court Judge Ramona Garrett has retired after 23 years on the bench, Brian K. Taylor, court executive officer, said.

Garrett originally was appointed to the Municipal Court Jan. 28, 1992, by then-Gov. Pete Wilson.

She was both the first woman and the first African American to be appointed as a Solano County Municipal or Superior Court judge.

After the two courts were consolidated, Garrett was elevated to the Superior Court bench Aug. 3, 1998, Taylor said.

She received her juris doctor degree from the University of California-Davis School of Law in 1980. She was admitted to the bar and began practicing law that same year.

From 1980 to 1982, Garrett was in private practice, and during the next two years she was a prosecuting deputy district attorney in Contra Costa County.

From 1984 to 1992, she was a Solano County prosecutor, until she was appointed to the bench.

Garrett was presiding judge of the Superior Court from 2008 to 2009.

In 2010, the California Women Lawyers gave her the Rose Bird Memorial Award, named for the first woman chief justice of the California Supreme Court. The award is given to a candidate who has shown excellence as a jurist and either longstanding or groundbreaking public service and inspiration to California women lawyers.

Though she retired last Wednesday, Garrett has said she will continue to participate in the assigned judges program, through which she will serve all California trial courts.

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