By J.D. Wallace, KOLD News 13 Reporter
People from all aspects of the Tucson legal community are mourning the death of public defender Robert Hooker.
"Everybody's devastated," said longtime colleague and chief assistant public defender Robert Hirsch.
"I was shocked. I think I gasped a couple of times," said Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall.
Hooker was respected from all sides of the courtroom for the changes that he made.
"(He was) full of ideas about what to do next," said Hon. Jan Kearney, presiding Superior Court judge.
"One of the things I think Bob Hooker can be congratulated for in his career as a public defender is he brought a much higher level of professionalism to that office," LaWall said.
"(And) the one thing that Bob has brought to bear in this office is the sense that we are all one, we are all supporting each other, that we're marshalling the resources and providing the best defense that we can provide," Hirsch said.
Whether those services will be needed in the case of Hooker's death remains to be seen.
"That's not even on the table here, you know, who knows? Whoever that is will be appointed counsel," Hirsch said.
"We will put somebody on there who wouldn't have a personal relationship with him because that would be very difficult to separate your own personal relationship with an individual who is a victim," LaWall said.
Decisions remain within a system that Hooker, a former Superior Court judge, worked to improve.
"My email is choc-a-block with emails from him with copies to the county attorney and to the county about, ‘Shouldn't we think about this? Couldn't we do this better?' ‘Couldn't we do that better?'" Kearney said.
"It's important from the prosecutor's perspective to have people who are competent in the courtroom," LaWall said.
"Competent advocates for the defense, competent advocates for the prosecution, so there are fair decisions made by juries and judge, and that's what Bob has been striving to do as the public defender," Hirsch said.
Hooker was also a husband, father, and grandfather. A family spokesperson said on Wednesday afternoon that they appreciate the outpouring of community support.
