Young new prosecutor is no novice

Sure Brett Tolman may look like a still-wet-behind-the-ears law school grad from Brigham Young University, but don't let appearances fool you. At the age of 36, with even younger looks, Tolman has already cut his teeth as an assistant U.S. attorney, taking a bite out of illegal gun possession in Utah and serving two of the most influential senators in Washington, D.C.

On Friday, the Senate confirmed him by voice vote as the new U.S. attorney for Utah, replacing Paul Warner as the top federal law-enforcement officer in the state. Warner stepped down earlier this year to become a federal magistrate judge.

Although he is not the youngest serving U.S. attorney, which is recorded at 25, "I'm on the younger side, certainly," Tolman told the Deseret Morning News.

He says he is glad to be back in Utah near his family and to have a chance to raise his kids here. In between his visit to the office he will now run and an overgrown lawn that needs mowing at a house he owns, Tolman took the time to speak the the Deseret Morning News about his past and how it will influence his role as a top federal prosecutor.

Tolman said being an effective prosecutor is more than just having a heavy hand — it takes balance.

"I am a fair prosecutor. I will be hard and tough when necessary, but a good prosecutor needs to know when to extend a hand of mercy, knowing that individuals can make mistakes," he said.

Growing up in Utah County, Tolman said, it was his father who first inspired him to go into law enforcement. Lynn Tolman had worked as a peace officer in Los Angeles and had witnessed the Watts riots in 1965, which lasted six days. The Watts area was 99 percent African-American, and one out of eight adults lacked a high school education. The riot was sparked by three arrests stemming from a traffic stop, but it was fueled by a long history of police brutality in the neighborhood.

Lynn Tolman had also gone undercover among the infamous Hell's Angels bike gang. "I remember sitting down and listening to some of his stories," Tolman said.

At a young age, Tolman struggled with dyslexia, and it was one of his father's law books that not only helped him overcome this challenge but opened the way for his law career.

"I remember when I was young, we had this law book, and I remember my dad saying, 'If you can read this, you can read anything,' " Tolman said.

When he was 14, the concept of justice took on a hard reality: His older sister was kidnapped and raped while in college. "We were never able to find the car. They were never brought to justice," he said.