Thomas Leo Leen

Thomas Leo Leen was born April 2, 1942, in Boston. He earned a B.A. in literature from Brandeis University in 1963 and his LL.B. from Boston College Law School in 1966. After graduating from law school he served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force, was assigned to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, and completed a tour of duty in Vietnam, where he was decorated with the Bronze Star Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. He was a member of the Nevada, California and Massachusetts bars and was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.

He came to Las Vegas in 1970 and became executive director of Clark County Legal Services three years later. During his career he served as a defense attorney and chief deputy public defender before switching to the prosecutor's office in 1982, where he rose to chief deputy district attorney. As a prosecutor he was widely regarded as an expert on Fourth Amendment search-and-seizure law, and the search and seizure manual he authored remained in use by Clark County prosecutors after his retirement. He gained convictions in several of the region's most high-profile cases of the 1980s. In 2000 he was honored as the recipient of the William J. Raggio Nevada Prosecutor of the Year award for his significant impact upon the criminal justice system in Nevada.

Beyond the courtroom, Leen was a dedicated teacher of the law. He taught criminal procedure, constitutional law and the law of search and seizure at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Academy for more than 15 years and provided in-service training for police agencies throughout the state. He also provided legal education to lawyers and judges and taught criminal procedure and constitutional law in the Political Science Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He twice ran for District Court judge. He was the husband of U.S. Magistrate Peggy Leen.