R. Paul Van Dam (born October 15, 1937) is an American politician and attorney from the state of Utah.
[2][3] Under District Attorney Van Dam's leadership, Salt Lake County DA's office was the first jurisdiction to prosecute serial killer Ted Bundy,[4] subsequently getting a conviction.
He was able to get the legislature to increase the budget, which enabled him to hire qualified attorneys and update the computer system making case handling more expedient and effective.
Cold fusion ended up being a losing issue for the university but required a major effort by the AG's office.
An antitrust suit involving the University of Utah and medical services for children was another major case during his term.
The abortion issue toward the end of his term proved very challenging when the state wanted to pass an anti-abortion law.
He was raised in Salt Lake City and pursued music from an early age at the encouragement of his mother after his father bought him a guitar.
There he witnessed how people lived in an “environmentally-friendly” manner and with great acceptance of different life-styles, which affected his philosophy of life from then on.
Serving as a court reporter in a JAG unit during his military service caught his interest and led to his desire to attend law school.
In 2016, after having resigned as executive director of the organization but remaining as an advisor, he was asked to give testimony at a Congressional hearing in St. George, Utah, before the Subcommittee on Federal Lands[12] about a proposed road called the "Northern Corridor" through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area,[13] formerly part of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve,[14] a habitat created in 1996 for the protection of threatened and endangered species.
[15] Once again, Van Dam was called upon to testify and did so at a Washington, D.C., Congressional hearing May 22, 2018, before the Subcommittee on Federal Lands of the House Committee on Natural Resources.