At the 2024 Third Annual Banquet, CCAPABA will be awarding $1,500 scholarships to two law students in honor of the late Judge Mikio Uchiyama.

Judge Uchiyama was a legal pioneer in the Central Valley. Born on a farm in Sanger, California to immigrant parents, he was attending UC Berkeley when he was forced into a concentration camp with over 100,000 other Japanese Americans when WWII started. He was able to secure a student release to attend the University of Texas, becoming the first Asian to graduate from their law school. After admission to the Texas State Bar, he was drafted into the US Army just at the end of WWII. He served under General MacArthur in post-war Japan and later participated in the war crimes trials as a civilian attorney. Upon return to California, he was admitted to the California Bar. His legal career includes being the first Japanese American City attorney, the first Asian Judge in the Central Valley, and the first Justice Court Judge to sit on assignment with the California Supreme Court. He was instrumental in helping Central Valley farmers, businesses, and organizations. His career was honored by the Emperor of Japan, the Japanese American Citizens League, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

Applications must be received on or before Monday, April 1, 2024.