A Twisted Look at Legalities and Lawyers

Judge Richard Conway Casey recalls the time he accidentally bumped into a courtroom wall at the beginning of a mob trial. Lawyers and spectators shifted uncomfortably - for just a moment. ``You're fired!'' Casey, 68, told his law clerk, who had accompanied him. ``Bring back my guide dog!'' The courtroom burst into laughter.

Unable to see for the past 14 years, Casey is the first blind person to be named a federal trial judge.

``You get mad. You get angry. You get depressed,'' he says. ``But then you choose to either sit there and wait to die or you get up and you move on. Once you make that decision, then you can find humor.''

Appointed in 1997, Casey handles a steady stream of 300 to 400 cases, which cross his desk on audiotapes created by a computer that converts printed words.

On rare occasions, he may swap a case with a colleague because it hinges on visual observation. Otherwise, his work ranges from drug cases to organized crime to contract disputes.

Jeff Thom, president of the American Blind Lawyers Association, said Casey is an inspiration for the estimated 500 blind lawyers nationwide. ``It gives us hope for the future of all blind lawyers,'' he said.

Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American jurist and the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Before becoming a judge, he was a lawyer who was best remembered for his high success rate in arguing before the Supreme Court and for the victory in Brown v. Board of Education.

His original name was Thoroughgood but he shortened it to Thurgood in second grade, which really wasn’t much of a better name really was it.

And, as the youngest practicing attorney in California – if not the nation – Holtz is loath to break the law.


Holtz started college at age 10 and entered law school at 15. People are stunned to learn she is only 18. Most assume she is in her late 20s. She is content to let them think that.

“Most of my friends are older,” said Holtz, of Westwood. “Even when I was younger, I was told I was very mature for my age.”

Other students at Cal State L.A., where she enrolled in an early entrance program, figured she was older than she really was. They had no clue that she only spent three weeks in first grade before skipping to second grade, or that she’d planned since age 8 to start college as early as she could.

By age 10, Holtz had by-passed fifth grade and was ready to trade middle school for part-time studies at Cal State L.A. She enrolled full time at age 11.

She graduated from Cal State L.A. magna cum laude with a degree in philosophy. At UCLA’s law school, she was a Law Review editor and Moot Court participant.

But she wasn’t old enough to drive or sign the lease for her off-campus apartment. She had to skip the monthly law school beer bashes and the Thursday night “bar reviews” – in which law students traveled to bars around Los Angeles to take a break from the rigors of case law and classwork.

Dean of Students Elizabeth Cheadle said Holtz e-mailed her before starting school. “She said, ‘By the way, I’m only 15.’ I was somewhat concerned. She didn’t want other students to know. She wanted people to get to know her as a person.”

Holtz managed to keep her secret – for a while.“People thought I was 21 or 22,” she said. “But I was 15.” After a month or so, word got out that the class of ‘07 had a youngster in its ranks.
When Holtz was found out, some students gave her the cold shoulder.

“A select few were supportive – it didn’t change how they reacted to me. Maybe 90% were hostile. They stopped talking to me and were suddenly very condescending,” she said.

But school administrators and her professors stood behind her.“She came in and talked to me. I was very surprised,” said law school Dean Michael Schill. “Law school is a very challenging environment for anyone.“It takes a lot of gumption to go to law school at such a young age.”

In California, where individuals must be at least 18 to practice law, the average age for bar admittance is 30. Spokeswomen for the State Bar of California and the American Bar Assn. said they know of no lawyers younger than Holtz.

Holtz’s parents, Bradley and Jane Holtz, say they have been supportive of their daughter’s decisions to go to college and then on to law school. They helped her settle into graduate-student housing before moving her into a studio apartment near UCLA.

Kathleen Holtz’s age was no secret when an attorney at the Century City firm of TroyGould recommended that she be hired. She started work last month. Until she passes the bar, she is being supervised by a licensed lawyer.

Lawyer Chris Lilly, 35, said only one issue arose when Holtz was hired. “We wondered about child labor laws,” he said. “She was only 17 when we recruited her.”

He also was called the the bar at only 17 years old in in 1913.