Dividing Western Waters: Mark Wilmer and Arizona v. California

Chapter Eight: That Lawyer from Arizona

When the Supreme Court announced its decision in 1963, Wilmer was a “happy guy,” according to John Bouma, chairman of Snell & Wilmer’s since 1983, but then a recently hired associate at the growing firm. Yet, Wilmer continued on his distinct and singular path, taking little, if any, time to bask in the glory of his legal victory. In fact, after the decision Wilmer decided to pursue a few days of what he loved best outside of law and family: hunting and fishing. Regarding these two recreational pursuits, if sons Bernie or Mark or one of his friends could not join him at Roosevelt Lake, San Carlos Lake, Lake Powell, or one of several secret spots in Gila County, he would just as readily go alone. Bouma, who fished and hunted with Wilmer on a regular basis, recalled hunting quail at the Big Sandy area near Florence, in Pinal County, where Wilmer had a long history trying cases.1 To access the various desired rural locations, Wilmer fashioned a Jeep with a powerful Cadillac engine. The hybrid vehicle enabled him quick and assured access to his favorite haunts. And although he owned many boats, his favorite seemed to be a small aluminum one that he would use to go fishing by himself. “I’m a social fisherman,” Bouma allowed, but “Mark would go hunting and fishing by himself.” Elder son Bernie confirmed that “hunting and fishing were his two great loves and to be honest with you, the hunting and fishing was probably second to his finding a good camp spot. And he’d go camping by himself. If he couldn’t get me or my brother or my uncle or someone in the family to accompany him,” he would head off to some remote location by himself. “He had a spot up in Winkelman—he had a rancher there that had worked out an agreement with him that if he would take care of his legal needs he would let my dad hunt and fish on his property any time he wanted and no one else could, and Dad loved that. He loved it.” Wilmer preferred camping at Chapter Eight THAT LAWYER FROM ARIZONA locations where cattle ponds created an attraction for wildlife. “We would duck hunt, and we would also quail hunt,” recalled Bernie. “He had it all set up the way he wanted.”2 Wilmer was known to enjoy an occasional drink, and he preferred bourbon . “We would go out hunting quail,” Bouma reminisced, “and I remember a time going back to his house … on Colter… We went in and he said bring the dog in. He and I were standing around drinking bourbon straight; he liked it straight as I recall… Mrs. Wilmer was so gracious about it all; she was cooking some steak, and she kept giving my dog bites of it, which I thought was quite unusual for such a woman to be so accommodating to my dog.” Another outcome of winning the lawsuit and earning a preeminent place in Arizona legal circles was an invitation for Wilmer to participate in the annual Highline Judicial Conference. This “conference,” organized in the late 1950s and early 1960s, was actually a social gathering lasting several days. The original organizers—Frank X. Gordon, Arizona Supreme Court justice, and court of appeals judges Jack Ogg and Lawrence Wren—had, while sitting on superior courts in Arizona’s northern tier of counties, invited their respective counties’ attorneys to the early gatherings. Thus named for the electricity generated from the various highline dams along the Colorado 116 DIVIDING WESTERN WATERS l-r, Charles Mark, Mark, and Mark Bernard, posing with prize catch (1956). Wilmer Family Photo Collection. River, it featured fishing, partying, practical jokes, and storytelling on either Lake Mohave, Lake Havasu, Lake Mead, and later, Lake Powell. Over the years, the Judicial Highline Conference grew in numbers and social significance . The hosts decided that they ought to invite Wilmer because he was responsible for Arizona’s securing rights to so much water. Soon, Cal Udall, Bouma, and others received prestigious invitations to the conference. In fact, in one instance, Bouma convinced a judge to recess a trial so he could attend the event. “We had this jury trial going on … and I went to the judge and I said, ‘You know, I gotta go on this fishing trip,’ and the other attorney is just raising hell about...