Bill of Rights was always Hooker's client, too

Hooker's death Tuesday in a vehicle collision caused by street racers shocked Tucson's legal community, many of whom said his long career and recent high-profile work as head public defender made him a pillar of the county's criminal-justice system.

Described as a "lawyer's lawyer," Hooker was honest, ethical and passionately dedicated to criminal defense, both as a legal scholar and an advocate for the accused, friends and colleagues said.

"He had a deep, deep reverence for the Constitution, for the rights and liberties of citizens accused of a crime," veteran attorney Michael Piccarreta said. "He believed that when he was representing clients, he was representing the Bill of Rights, one client at a time."

Hooker surprised many when he took over the Public Defender's Office in 2005, but he said the credibility he had built up over the years would help to improve the office.

"I always knew I could take a client who came to me as a private lawyer and I would get a better deal than a public defender would — a better listen from the judge and the prosecutor and a better deal in the end," he told the Arizona Daily Star in 2005.

And when the county job opened up with the retirement of Susan Kettlewell, "the time came to put up or shut up," he said.

Since Hooker took over the Public Defender's Office in January 2005, with longtime friend and former legal partner Robert Hirsh as his deputy, the office has substantially increased its caseload. When Hooker started, public defenders represented 31 percent of all the indigent-defense cases in Pima County and only 19 percent of the county's first-degree homicide cases.

By last fall, Hooker's attorneys were handling 48 percent of the county's poor defendants and 39 percent of first-degree homicide cases, easing the county's reliance on more expensive private attorneys contracted by the court.

"I was definitely a kindred spirit. Bob made the proposal to me after he'd had the job, and it certainly sounded like a worthwhile endeavor to really do some good," Hirsh said. "Hooker really believed in our justice system, and in order to have a working system there must be strong defense lawyers, just as there are strong prosecutors. He put his belief into action by taking this job, and he has had a positive impact."

Hooker had an "unparalleled commitment to criminal law," and his leadership sparked the passion of the attorneys and staffers in the office, Hirsh said.

"The shame of this is that all the hard work and effort Bob put into this job was coming around to some tangible results in the last four or five months," Hirsh said. "We were all feeling better about what was going on here, and we were just on the brink of getting things worked out, and then this tragedy occurs."

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said Hooker had a level of patience that made him the right person to establish public defense on equal footing with the prosecution.

"Our whole criminal-justice system is based on this balance, and Bob added a huge amount of credibility to the criminal-defense component," Huckelberry said. "It floored me that he was interested in the job, but in talking to him, he was a true believer in the system of justice and felt something needed to be done.

"He accomplished a huge amount in the limited time he was public defender," said Huckelberry, citing the professional standards Hooker brought to the office and the development of the attorneys under his leadership.

"I didn't view him as a criminal-defense attorney. I viewed him more as an advocate for justice," Huckelberry said.

Hooker, a University of Arizona law school graduate, was from central California and attended Chico State University, where he played basketball. The avid outdoorsman and hunter continued playing basketball into his 60s, Hirsh said.

Hooker is survived by his wife of 43 years, Sharon; their son, Lance, 40; and two grandchildren.

A memorial service is pending.

Quotes

"He didn't fear to go where others might, if he believed in a cause. He wasn't afraid to be a lone voice in a room if he believed he had taken the correct stand. He was very soft-spoken, and yet he was articulate and passionate. You don't replace someone like Bob Hooker. You just try to take the principles he stood for and move forward."

— Phil Maloney, head of the Office of Court Appointed Counsel

"He worked on the right side of justice for a long time. Things were really coming together. He had the support of (county) administration and the board (of supervisors). He was able to do things that needed to be done for a long time."

— Isabel Garcia, Pima County legal defender

"He was always willing to pre-sent and advocate for positions in a very strong way, but behind his statements there was always a thorough knowledge of the law. If anyone was going to pick one trait that he showed as head of the Public Defender's Office, he was always thinking of better ways to do things. He never quit thinking about how to improve not only his office but the criminal justice system as well. It was a constant theme."

— Jan Kearney, Presiding Pima County Superior Court judge

"He unquestionably added discipline and professionalism to the Public Defender's Office. The transition was not smooth at times, but eventually it ended up in improved morale and higher-quality representation. He cared very passionately for the rights of the accused in the criminal justice system."

— Michael Cruikshank, Pima County Superior Court judge