Gary Booker, full-time defense attorney, part-time Boulder City prosecutor

By Jean Reid Norman

Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Before going into private practice and taking a part-time job prosecuting criminal offenses in Boulder City Municipal Court, Gary Booker spent 18 years with the Clark County district attorney’s office, handling many high-profile cases.

But for the past five years in Boulder City, Booker, 52, has been more likely to handle a littering citation than a felony charge of driving under the influence. Nonetheless, hiring Booker was a major coup, Boulder City Municipal Judge Victor Lee Miller says.

“He has the respect of attorneys who come out here,” Miller said. “He knows what you can and can’t do with a criminal case, and no attorney can come out here and blow smoke.”

Boulder City also has been a place where Booker, who earns $40,000 a year for 10 to 12 hours a week, has had a free hand to fashion a court system he is proud of. The Sun recently talked to him about his role in “the best city by a dam site.”

Do you like the role of small-town prosecutor?

Now I know what there is to like. It’s a quality-of-life issue. Small-town prosecutors live longer. I like the small pond just fine.

Why did you leave the district attorney’s office in early 2005?

Several reasons. My health — I was over 300 pounds and had caught pneumonia. My wife was pushing me to make a change. And also there was a different philosophy in the office. I liked the old philosophy.

What philosophy did you bring to the Boulder City court system?

I hold pretrial conferences with defendants and their lawyers, and I try to come up with a plea deal that satisfies that requirement. That allows the case to be resolved right then and there, and I can move on to the next case and the next negotiation. It allows more time with offenders and more time to find ways to help them instead of just punishing them.

Does Boulder City’s smaller size make that approach work better?

It does, in several ways. My paralegal was formerly the clerk for the Municipal Court, so she recognizes names of repeat offenders and flags them, helping me identify those who need extra attention. Because of my experience, I know most of the stories and see where things are going. I like to eyeball folks.

Is there a risk that this approach will result in too much leniency for defendants?

I don’t want to put a Band-Aid where I should have wrapped gauze. But also, the caseload is not as heavy and offenses are usually not as serious, so that allows for more leeway to incorporate preventive measures into the plea deals. By taking care of the little problems, you don’t get the big ones. Kids out here, they do goofy stuff, but they’re not putting guns to old ladies’ heads and robbing them.

You continue to take cases as a defense lawyer in the Las Vegas Valley. How does that work, prosecuting defendants part of the week and defending others the rest of the time?

On either side of the courtroom, my goal is the same: Find the fair resolution. The right thing to do is generally the right thing to do, no matter what side you are on.