Robert William Witek

Robert William Witek was born July 6, 1942, in North Hollywood, California, to Kathleen (Miller) Witek and Ralph Witek. He graduated high school in San Jose, California, in 1960, later attended Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, and transferred to Stanford, graduating in 1970. He briefly pursued postgraduate coursework at the University of Oregon before completing the accelerated program at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama, graduating in 1975. From 1963 to 1969 he served in the Air Wing of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, receiving an honorable discharge as a Staff Sergeant.

The majority of Robert's legal career was spent as a public defender, working first for six years in Colorado before moving to Nevada, where he practiced in Carson City, Reno, and rural Lyon and Mineral Counties. From the late 1990s he maintained a private practice in Yerington, Nevada, extending to surrounding rural areas. Known for his zeal in defending the underprivileged, he devoted his career largely to criminal defense.

Robert served two elected terms on the Nevada State Bar Board of Governors. Beyond his practice, he was a guest lecturer at the Western Colorado Police Academy and later taught paralegal courses at Sierra Nevada College at Lake Tahoe. He was also President of the Smith Valley Rotary Club and an active member of E Clampus Vitus across a seven-state area. His interests included fishing, camping, and backpacking - he hiked the more than 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail end-to-end in 1993 - as well as reading, with a particular interest in U.S. Civil War history.