LAS VEGAS — With his stubbly goatee and long, jet-black ponytail, Judge Joe M. Bonaventure could easily be mistaken for one of the defendants who cycle before his bench in Clark County Justice Court.

But the rebel appearance is misleading. Bonaventure, the Justice of the Peace presiding over O.J. Simpson's Nov. 8 preliminary hearing over an alleged robbery at a Las Vegas casino, is in many ways the ultimate insider in Las Vegas' legal community.

His father, Joseph T. Bonaventure, who retired last spring after three decades on the bench, was Sin City's most famous jurist, earning icon status for his hot-tempered handling of some of the state's most high-profile cases.

Bonaventure capitalized on his father's name in 2004 when, at age 28, he beat out a field of more experienced candidates for a seat on the bench. He was just two years out of law school at the time.

Now 31, Bonaventure is the youngest full-time judge in the Clark County courthouse. Lawyers who practice before him acknowledge they had initial doubts about whether he was ready to be a judge, but they say the worries quickly vanished. Over the past three years, they say, he has impressed people with his intense preparation and composure.

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"You never see the guy lose his temper. His decisions are always thought out," said Bernie Zadrowski, a prosecutor who ran against Bonaventure in 2004.

At the time, Zadrowski, who heads the bad-check unit of the district attorney's office, voiced concern that people were casting votes for Bonaventure thinking they were voting for his father, whose colorful rants against ill-prepared lawyers and misbehaving defendants were often featured on local news.

Zadrowski, however, said he liked Bonaventure so much as a person that he continued to appear before him after losing the election, even though, as a former rival, he could have requested another judge for his cases.

"I think he does an excellent job," he said.

In the halls of the courthouse, Bonaventure is still referred to as "Joe Jr.," a testament to the staying power of his father's reputation. Joseph Bonaventure, who handles occasional cases as a retired senior judge, made his name in Las Vegas presiding over high-profile trials, including those of Jeremy Strohmeyer, a high school student who strangled a 7-year-old girl to death in a casino bathroom; "Black Widow" Margaret Rudin, who was convicted of killing her fifth husband; and the couple accused of murdering millionaire casino boss Ted Binion.

Las Vegas' most famous jurist, Judge Joseph Bonaventure, presided over high-profile trials such as the murder case of Ted Binion.

The cases were televised, and many citizens were captivated by Joseph Bonaventure's Queens accent, gruff sense of humor and bombastic outbursts against anyone who offended his sense of propriety. During the Binion case, he had a bellhop from the Golden Nugget marched into his courtroom in uniform so he could dress down the man for yelling "Not guilty!" at jurors dining at the hotel.

For Joe Bonaventure and his brother, Santino, now a public defender, the courthouse became a second home, and the prominent attorneys who appeared before their father were family friends.

After law school at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Bonaventure worked just more than a year as a prosecutor and then went into private practice before seeking the bench.

"Joe is exceptionally proud of his father and who his father is, and I'm sure his decision to run for judge is based at least in part on that," said Anthony Goldstein, a law school classmate and former law partner of the younger Bonaventure.

In courtroom demeanor, the father and son have little in common. Despite the ponytail, which Bonaventure grew after winning office, he is serious, soft-spoken and unsmiling on the bench.

"His dad lets it all hang out," said Al Lasso, a defense attorney who worked as a law clerk for Joseph Bonaventure.

"With his son, he's more reserved, more circumspect and I think he keeps emotions and his reactions in check. You would have to really get him upset for him to raise his voice," Lasso said.

His youth may offer a different perspective on Simpson. Bonaventure was not alive for Simpson's greatest years on the gridiron and he was a 19-year-old college student at UNLV when a Los Angeles jury acquitted Simpson of murdering his ex-wife and her friend.

Goldstein, his law school classmate, says he cannot recall Bonaventure ever voicing an opinion on Simpson or the murder trial.

"By that point, it was so overexposed. I don't remember it ever coming up as a topic," he said.

Simpson and five other men were arrested after they allegedly stormed into a Las Vegas hotel room Sept. 13 to steal items that reportedly included Simpson's sports memorabilia from two collectors.

In perhaps a nod to his status as the youngest judge, Bonaventure keeps a pinball machine in his chambers. His brother said he and Bonaventure were pinball enthusiasts as children and the machine, a vintage model, used to be in their home.

"It still works. I've played it there," Santino Bonaventure said.