Prominent LV trial attorney Goldwater dies

Stacy J. Willis

Monday, Nov. 6, 2000 | 11:03 a.m.

Prominent Las Vegas trial attorney David Goldwater Sr. died in Las Vegas of heart failure on Sunday. He was 83.

Goldwater established a reputation among local attorneys as a formidable opponent, and he was regarded as an influential character in the development of the Las Vegas community.

"He had a way with juries -- they just liked him. He was genuinely a friendly man and that came across to juries," Las Vegas attorney Gary Logan, who knew Goldwater for 30 years, said.

In his nearly 50 years as a Las Vegas attorney, Goldwater represented casino bosses Moe Dalitz and Jackie Gaughan, among other prominent Las Vegans.

"A lot of his cases didn't receive a lot of publicity, but virtually every attorney here knew who he was -- he had an outstanding reputation," Logan said.

"I always said that I never wanted to try a case against him -- he just had a wonderful way in the courtroom -- and I never did," Logan said.

Goldwater was a member of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers, which admits no more than 5 percent of trial lawyers in each state.

"He was very proud of his profession, very proud to be a member of the (Nevada State) Bar," said David Goldwater Jr., his son and a state assemblyman from Las Vegas.

"We always called him classy," Dan Tuntland, a longtime family friend, said. "That was the word for him: classy. He was well-spoken, and honest, and that contributed to his success as an attorney, and as a friend."

Goldwater grew up in Reno and graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, where he was president of his college student body class, and a candidate for a Rhodes Scholarship in 1939.

In 1940, Goldwater enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in World War II, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant.

He was in combat in the South Pacific and earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart.

When he returned to the states in 1945, Goldwater attended Stanford University and received his law degree from the University of Colorado Law School in 1949.

He began his law career with his brother Bert in Reno before moving to Las Vegas in 1952, where he became a partner in Wiener, Goldwater and Galitz law firm.

Goldwater continued to practice law as a sole practitioner until his death, which resulted from complications during heart bypass surgery.

"He played a roll in the development of this city, definitely," Logan said.

As a member of the Las Vegas community, Goldwater served as president of B'nai Brith and the Clark County Bar Association, president of the Las Vegas Combined Jewish Appeal, and a founding member of the Las Vegas Chapter of the National Conference for Christians and Jews (now known as the National Conference for Community and Justice.)

Additionally, Goldwater helped to found Congregation Ner Tamid, a reform Jewish synagogue that is now the largest reform congregation in the state.

"He was a wonderful father -- a kind and generous man," Goldwater Jr. said.

Goldwater is survived by four sons and a daughter: Garrett Goldwater of Austin, Texas, Danny Tucker of Telluride, Colo., Hillary Sossi of Lake Havasu, Ariz., Jason Goldwater of Las Vegas, and David Goldwater Jr., of Las Vegas.

Funeral services are pending arrangement.