Judge Robert C. Fracchia has been confirmed as the incoming presiding judge of the Solano County Superior Court, the current presiding judge, E. Bradley Nelson, announced last week.

In addition, Judge John B. Ellis has been elected the incoming assistant presiding judge of the court, starting Jan. 1, 2016.

“Judges Fracchia and Ellis are excellent choices as presiding judge and assistant presiding judge,” Nelson said.

“They are smart, conscientious and fair-minded. Each is committed to serving the public and administering justice. Together with our Court Executive Officer Brian Taylor and our Assistant CEO Sharon Hoover, they will make a formidable court management team that I’d stack up against any in the state.”

“I am both humbled and honored by the trust my colleagues have placed in me,” Fracchia said after his confirmation was announced.

“My predecessor, Judge E. Bradley Nelson, carefully guided our court through an extremely difficult budget cycle. We would not have been so successful in this process without his leadership and the significant dedication and sacrifices our judges and court staff have made on a daily basis.

“I look forward to meeting this same challenge and to provide a fair and expeditious forum for all the citizens of Solano County.”

Fracchia earned a bachelor of arts degree in social ecology with an emphasis in criminal and juvenile justice from the University of California-Irvine, and his juris doctorate from the University of California-Davis.

His solo legal practice, with an emphasis in criminal law, civil litigation and personal injury, lasted from 1997 to 2005. He also has been an appointed mediator and arbitrator for the Solano Superior Court.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, Fracchia was a California administrative law judge in the Office of Administrative Hearings, a judge pro tem for the Northern Solano Municipal Court, a juvenile court referee for the Solano Superior Court and deputy public defender for the Office of the Solano County Public Defender.

Fracchia was appointed in August 2005 as a commissioner for the Solano Superior Court and was elevated to the court in July 2008 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Ellis is the presiding judge for the Juvenile Division of the court.

He earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of California-Davis, a doctor of dental surgery degree from University of California-San Francisco and his juris doctorate from Boston College Law School in Massachusetts.

From 1992 to 1996, he was an associate with Larson and Burnham. He was a deputy district attorney from 1996 to April 2009 for the Solano County District Attorney’s Office.

From April to December 2009, when Schwarzenegger appointed him to the bench, he was chief deputy district attorney.

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