Former Child Actor, Now Blind, Will Begin Stint as O’Connor Law Clerk

U.S. Supreme Court

Former Child Actor, Now Blind, Will Begin Stint as O’Connor Law Clerk

Posted May 27, 2008, 08:35 am CST

By Debra Cassens Weiss

A former child actor who played the nerdy Weasel on the TV show Saved By the Bell: The New Class will become a U.S. Supreme Court clerk this July for retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Actor-turned-lawyer Isaac Lidsky will be the first blind clerk at the Supreme Court, Legal Times reports. He will work on O’Connor’s cases that she hears sitting by designation on federal appeals courts, and he will be assigned to another justice for case screening and opinion drafting.

Lidsky suffers from the degenerative eye disease retinitis pigmentosa. Judge David Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, who has the same disease, has counseled Lidsky on how to accommodate his disability so he can handle reading-intensive legal work. “Judge Tatel is beyond inspirational to me,” Lidsky told Legal Times.

Lidsky is an associate at Jones Day and is founder of the Hope for Vision foundation, which aims to raise awareness of blinding eye diseases and promote research into cures.

He uses optical character recognition software which reads aloud scanned pages to him. “I can listen to things as fast as people can read them,” he says. “I can do the functional equivalent of skimming.”

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Posted by Chuck T - 6 months, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes ago

I am elated to read about a former child actor, now apparently disabled, who is making the most of his situation and doing well. He could have just as easily felt sorry for himself and turned to drugs and/or alcohol, among other harmful things. I applaud and commend Mr. Lidsky, first, for getting an education following his career as a child actor, and secondly, for not letting his disability stop him from accomplishing great things. Kudos to him!!!
Posted by DB - 6 months, 2 days, 18 hours, 37 minutes ago

Yes, I remember this guy. Agree it is good he’s being productive. Whatever became of Screech? I thought Screech was the nerd; or was he just another dork?
Posted by Marci - 6 months, 2 days, 18 hours, 27 minutes ago

Jones Day Associate
Posted by DNM - 6 months, 2 days, 17 hours, 48 minutes ago

Screech is a porn star—no kidding.
Posted by DB - 6 months, 2 days, 17 hours, 32 minutes ago

Screetch never got the girl. I can’t imagine him with a woman, let alone with full frontal nudity! Of course, if beautiful Catherine Heigl could sleep with that pathetic fat dork in that recent movie, get pregnant, and then even plan a life with that loser, ANYTHING is possible!
Posted by Scott P - 6 months, 2 days, 16 hours, 45 minutes ago

Never heard of him or the show; was it popular during the 1950s? I was hoping it was Gary Coleman.
Posted by Rick - 6 months, 2 days, 16 hours, 34 minutes ago

why does a retired justice need a law clerk?
Posted by Matt - 6 months, 2 days, 16 hours, 27 minutes ago

Well Rick, if you read all the way down to paragraph 2, it says that “[h]e will work on O’Connor’s cases that she hears sitting by designation on federal appeals courts, and he will be assigned to another justice for case screening and opinion drafting.“

Is that a good enough answer, or was your “why?“ more of an existential inquiry?
Posted by angry recent grad - 6 months, 2 days, 16 hours, 24 minutes ago

F. Jones Day. I’ve been unemployed since graduation last year. And Ditto #7, why does a retired justice need a clerk? When will the Supreme Court hire it’s first Native American clerk?
Posted by Rick - 6 months, 2 days, 16 hours, 22 minutes ago

Sorry. I didn’t read the article because I read it earlier on another website that didn’t have that info.

What does existential mean?
Posted by Matt - 6 months, 2 days, 16 hours, 13 minutes ago

9 and 10—you guys are putting me on, right? Neither of you can be serious.
Posted by Law Firm Outsider - 6 months, 2 days, 16 hours, 4 minutes ago

“Screech,“ aka Dustin Diamond, is on the current season of Celebrity Fit Club, which airs on VH1.
Posted by Chuck - 6 months, 2 days, 16 hours, 3 minutes ago

After three years of law school, I unintentionally acquired speed reading skill. (Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.) If this guy is speed “reading” by sound… that’s just amazing!
Posted by Jermaine Carroll - 6 months, 2 days, 14 hours, 14 minutes ago

Now that little article was worth reading. I’ve got nothing but respect for this young man, and all other persons like him that surmount disabilities and do great things, not just in the law but in other industries, in the community and in the home. I’d love to mee this guy.
Posted by Leslie - 6 months, 2 days, 13 hours, 50 minutes ago

Even more amazing it that this person passed the bar when most bar examiners seem to be unable to accomodate most disabilities. A friend of mine has taken the CA bar and said that the brail is seriously flawed. The brail was so flawed and full of errors that she had no chance of fiinding out what they were even asking, let alone passing the test! I applaud the bar examiners in whatever state this person took (and presumably passed) the bar for making the test at least possible.
Posted by future law student - 6 months, 2 days, 12 hours, 57 minutes ago

I think it’s really great that this guy not only went on with his life, but has lived it to his fullest potential. I mean, Harvard, working with Supreme Court Justice O’Connor, and founder of an organization raising awareness and funds for blindness (http://www.hopeforvision.org/whoweare/)??? AWESOME is the operative word here.
And 15, it’s spelled “braille”.
Posted by Salt - 6 months, 2 days, 12 hours, 50 minutes ago

It’s odd how the bar is so brutal to those with disabilities, yet in school all you need is reoccuring hiccups to land yourself an extra 2 hours for the exam.

Yeah. I’m bitter.

It kinda throws the curve, you know?

Anyways, great for this kid. Though it’s still not as cool as throwing your childhood away on cheap sex and cocaine… obviously.
Posted by Choppin' Brocco-lay - 6 months, 2 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes ago

I’d rather be Screech. That dude rides the pony.
Posted by Not Astounded - 6 months, 2 days, 12 hours, 5 minutes ago

“Posted by angry recent grad - 4 hours, 17 minutes ago

F. Jones Day. I’ve been unemployed since graduation last year. And Ditto #7, why does a retired justice need a clerk? When will the Supreme Court hire it’s first Native American clerk? “

Oh, mystery.
Posted by Over It - 6 months, 2 days, 23 minutes ago

Matt in #8 - that kind of snide attitude and gratuitous condescension is just what this profession doesn’t need. Thanks in advance for not posting next time.
Posted by Elmore Leonard - 6 months, 1 day, 8 hours, 54 minutes ago

#20, I suppose guys like Matt (#8) are the ones who do not get any women. He’d not be so high-fallutin’ if he got some.
Posted by Betty Schoen, M.A., C.R.C. - 6 months, 1 day, 7 hours, 47 minutes ago

My husband graciously shared this article with me, knowing I’d be interested since I am a certified Vocational Rehabilitation professional (with disabilites). I applaud Mr. Lidsky for pursuing his goal to its accomplishment. For persons with disabilities, maintaining the motivation can be challenging when the general public expresses opinions like those I read in some of the comments to this article. Assistive technology these days is amazing and can help people with many types of disabilities to join the labor force, if only they are given the opportunity by employers who are willing to hire them. There’s the rub. “Disability” is a four letter word, in the dirty sense of the expression. All of you who have the power to hire, look beyond the visible “dis” to the ABILITY.
Posted by Francisca O. N. Brodrick - 5 months, 4 weeks, 15 hours, 31 minutes ago

I am delighted to read about the disabled child actor’s success as a prestigious Law Clerk.
My mother became visually impaired when she was a doctoral student in Political Science while working as a staff nurse at the same time.She underwent glaucoma surgery, which was unsuccessful. Her life became very challenging ever since. We (my family) have not been lucky in getting her appropriate technology for her independent living. Although she is now old and blind, but living somewhat independently would have bees helpful. Is there any referral you can recommend for her assistive technology? Please help. Thank you.

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