David J. Rivers, II was born in Richland, Washington on November 27, 1946, in the vanguard of the Baby Boom generation.  His father, Bart Rivers, was a World War II veteran who served in Africa winning, among other citations, the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. Bart was working as an instrument technician at the Hanford Plutonium Plant when he met David’s mother, Wilma West.  The couple were married in August 1945.  Bart, an Apache/Comanche Indian, had a colorful life prior to coming to Richland.  He made two trips out west, the first with Ben Johnson and the second with Will Sampson.  The young men were determined to become movie actors, but Bart lost interest when the only jobs they could land were painting movie sets.  Johnson went on to win the Academy Award for The Last Picture Show and Sampson is best known for his role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.  Bart Rivers, instead, went on to being appointed by Governor Mike O’Callaghan as the first Director of the Nevada Indian Commission.

David grew up in Richland, attending Columbia High School known as the “Richland Bombers,” a tag that was given the school’s sports teams immediately after the Hanford workers learned that they had been responsible for the plutonium used in the “Fat Man” atom bomb.  David and his fellow “Bombers” remain vigorously loyal to their alma mater and share an on-line newspaper in which alumni contribute each and every day.  David continues to be so proud to be a Bomber his campaign colors are those of his high school, green and gold.

Following high school, David joined the United States Marine Corps.  He served in many arenas as the Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge of Operations for a number of Marine units.  David served in Vietnam and was wounded when a rocket exploded throwing him through the air on a night when he had only four days left to serve In Country.  Because his wounds seemed minor, David refused hospitalization.  Though David could tell he had some injury to his back from what he believed to be a pinched nerve which nagged him over the years, doctors were unable to determine the extent of the injury from the rocket blast. 

In 2006, David began experiencing tremors throughout his nervous system and eventually awoke with virtually no use of his limbs.  His general practitioner rushed him to a Las Vegas specialist who operated and returned approximately 70% of his physical capabilities, naturally being unable to repair permanent nerve damage.  David, who now wears the same short haircut his father wore (which David refused to wear in his youth no matter how much his father nagged him) laughs at his limp as, according to David, “I now look and walk exactly as my father did.”  His father had a characteristic limp resulting from polio as a child.

After his honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, David relocated, in January 1970 to Las Vegas where his parents had relocated between 1964-1965.  David had not been a particularly zealous student during his high school years and enrolled in UNLV as a probationary student.  During his first semester, David received all A’s and one B and from that semester on, continued his education with academic scholarships awarded to him from various organizations, including the Las Vegas Rotary Club.  After carrying enough hours to complete his degree in three years, David graduated with a Bachelor of Science with Distinction in December, 1972.  Thereafter, he served the community as an elementary school teacher, received his Masters of Education Degree and served as a State School Administrator.

In 1980, David rejected several offers of scholarship to obtain his Ph.D., and instead accepted a scholarship from Arizona State University to complete his Juris Doctor Degree.  Following graduation from law school, David accepted a position with the Las Vegas firm of Lionel, Sawyer & Collins.  In 1987, David began a practice with K. Michael Leavitt which evolved into the law firm of Leavitt, Sully & Rivers, practicing as the litigation partner of the firm.  The firm practices in the area of commercial and/or real estate transactions and David litigates commercial, contract, construction and other related matters.

During his practice with Leavitt, Sully & Rivers, David was appointed the first Commercial Judge of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe and has served in that capacity since 1995.  In addition to his litigation practice, David acts as a private arbitrator, mediator and has served on various occasions as a Court Appointed Special Master.

David is a member of the Clark County Bar, the State Bar of Nevada, the Nevada Indian Bar Association and has served two terms as a member of the Board of Directors of the Clark County Bar Association.  David has also served as the Secretary of the Nevada Indian Bar Association and is currently serving his sixth term as a Committee Member of the Clark County School District Bond Oversight Committee. 

David is admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States; the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals; the United States District Court, District of Nevada; the Supreme Court of Nevada; and in the Las Vegas Paiute Commercial Court where he sits as a Tribal Judge, as noted above.

David resides in Las Vegas with his wife, Kathleen.  His daughter, Sarah, resides in San Diego, California.