* Richard W. Abbe; Former Court of Appeal Justice

Richard W. Abbe, 74, retired justice of the state Court of Appeal based in Santa Barbara. Born in Paris, the son of globe-trotting photojournalist James Abbe Jr., the future jurist and his brother and sister in 1936 published a child’s-eye view of prewar Europe, “Around the World in Eleven Years.” Later, Abbe served as a Navy rear tail gunner during World War II. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Stanford and a law degree from UC’s Hastings College of Law and then settled in Hollister, Calif., to practice. He became district attorney of Shasta County and in 1965 was named to that county’s Redding-based Superior Court by Gov. Pat Brown. The Democratic judge was elevated by Brown’s son, Gov. Jerry Brown, in 1982 to the then-new appellate 2nd District Division 6 covering Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties and headquartered in Santa Barbara. Abbe, known for his integrity, fairness, no-nonsense written opinions and sense of humor, had a vanity license plate, DISSENT, touting his willingness to disagree with his colleagues. As an appellate justice, he was widely recognized for his contributions to state family and environmental law. After retiring in 1990, Abbe took several special assignments for the Ventura County Superior Court, handling suits over expanding shopping centers and landfills, among others. Abbe served two terms on the California Judicial Council and was on the board of Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara. On Monday in Berkeley after a brief illness.