Storied Utah judge dies of cancer

Storied Utah judge dies of cancer

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SALT LAKE CITY — Robert Hilder, a former Utah judge whose colleagues said his compassion and fairness transcended controversies during his time on the bench, has died.

The Summit County attorney and former Salt Lake City 3rd District judge succumbed Wednesday to esophageal cancer, the county said in a statement. He was diagnosed in February. He was 67.

Hilder retired as a judge in 2011 after 16 years, then became a Summit County prosecutor, where he worked until his death, a Utah courts spokesman said.

Hilder, a native of Australia and a controversial figure in Utah, had immense respect from his counterparts across the state. Colleagues have characterized him as a skilled mediator who took pains to understand people and consider how his decisions would affect them.

Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant Wednesday praised Hilder as a "superb jurist."

"We have lost a valuable colleague and friend to the court," Durrant said in a prepared statement, adding he was "deeply grateful" for Hilder's service.

Hilder also was the target of strong criticism stemming from some rulings.

In 2003, he upheld a University of Utah policy barring guns, a decision he believed stalled his career years later when the Utah Senate rejected his bid to join the Utah Supreme Court in 2008. He'd had wide support from prosecutors, defense attorneys and others.

In public and behind closed doors, Hilder came under fire from senators, he said, for that ruling and for more personal elements: his divorce and inactivity in the LDS Church.

"I believe no judicial position is an entitlement," Hilder said later, "but I felt I had earned the appointment." He did not let the setback affect his mission of solving problems and doing what was right, friends said.

The son of an alcoholic father who abused his mom, Hilder moved out and did odd jobs in his native Australia for over a decade before becoming a member of the LDS Church and serving a mission in his home country.

He married a fellow missionary and moved to the United States at age 28 in 1977, earning bachelors and law degrees from the University of Utah. After clerking part time during law school with Christensen & Jensen, he joined the firm and worked his way up to managing director. He focused on civil litigation.

Hilder became a judge in Utah's 3rd District Court in August 1995, overseeing cases in Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele counties. He also taught law at the U.

After the Senate rejection, more heartache followed.

In 2000, a Summit County father was charged with leaving his son, 2, in his truck while he scouted hunting sites near Coalville. The boy managed to open the door and wander into the woods, where he died of hypothermia.

Hilder handed down 30 days in jail after attorneys on both sides did not recommend jail time. The next day, the father took his own life.

Hilder at the time said it was a judge's worst nightmare for a decision to lead to unforeseen and tragic human consequences. Later, he said the man's face was constantly in his thoughts.

In 2011, when Hilder retired, attorney Ed Brass reflected on his tenure.

"He is one of the kindest, most compassionate, gentlest people to sit on the bench," Brass said. "Any loss of human life is going to pain him greatly because of the kind of person he is."

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