John Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: Peace District No. 1 Judge Gary Griffiths (left) hugs longtime Attorney General and IA Master Anna Elder at her retirement party. Griffiths served on the Graham County bench for 20 years.
John Johnson
john johnson news@gmail.com
Safford – Safford Magistrate Justice After 20 years on the bench in First Precinct, Justice Gary Griffiths has finally regained his name.
A retirement party honoring Gary Griffith, who took off his judicial uniform for the last time, was held Thursday at the General Services Building. and family members were included. In a small presentation, Griffiths talked about the company.
“It’s a real honor to serve here as a magistrate,” said Griffiths.
At his side, as she had throughout her 20-year career, was Attorney General and IA Master Anna Elder, who presented Griffith with a shield.
“I miss you,” Elder told Griffith during the presentation.
Now retired from the bench, Griffith was once again free to practice law and accepted a position as Greenlee County Chief Deputy County Attorney under Greenlee County Attorney Scott Adams. Since he plans to commute to Greenlee County, the attorney gave Griffith a box of “must-haves”, including commuter snacks and a seat massager. , he also gave Griffith a traditional retirement gift from the group: a pocket watch.
“We miss you,” Johnson told Griffith during the presentation. You can see the unfair side of it: there are no criminal prosecutors.”
Griffiths completed a bachelor’s degree at the University of Arizona and graduated from Georgetown Law School in Washington, DC in the late ’90s, but don’t ask him to specify exactly what year.
“Georgetown is a Jesuit school, so diplomas are written in Latin, not English,” Griffiths said. “I have my diploma on the wall, but I can’t read a word…the dates are spelled out like Roman numerals, so I don’t know when I graduated from law school.”
From January, the two judicial courts will be merged into one court. This will save the county about $120,000 annually. Judges of the Peace District 2 Judges of the Peace Judge Wyatt J. Palmer will serve as Graham County’s sole magistrate.
After learning of the merger, Griffith was offered a job offer by Greenlee County. After much consideration, he decided to retire from his 20 years as a judge and accept a new position as Greenlee County prosecutor.
“I’ve tried to be a good judge,” Griffiths said. “Do the best you can every day, and try to be a conscientious, fair, and sensible judge.”
