Latest / Nightmare Success In and Out / The Power of Belief: Kaysia Earley's Redemption Journey from Prison to Powerhouse Attorney

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The Power of Belief: Kaysia Earley's Redemption Journey from Prison to Powerhouse Attorney · Nightmare Success In and Out

0:01
What happens when your worst fear becomes your reality?
0:04
Hi, I'm Brent Cassidy, welcome to the Nightmare Success In and
0:08
Out podcast where we explore how to overcome your fears and
0:11
nightmares that set yourself free.
0:13
We're going to be exploring this topic with guys that was in
0:16
Leavenworth with. And others who survived their
0:19
own nightmare. These stories can be inspiring,
0:22
sometimes sad. There's some humor, but
0:25
hopefully you can come away with a nugget of something that'll
0:28
help you knock down some of the prisons you built up in your own
0:31
mind. All right.
0:34
Welcome back, nightmare success in and out.
0:36
Listeners, this is where you come for what happens when your
0:40
worst year becomes your reality. How do you adapt, survive,
0:43
overcome, set yourself free? Well, I have really been looking
0:47
forward to this interview with my guests because she's got one
0:52
of those true. Nightmare success stories.
0:55
I mean, it is checks all the boxes.
0:58
So if you tuned in for this and you want to be inspired and you
1:01
want to think how can I get back up after I've been knocked down?
1:05
Casea early is your listen, you're at the right place to
1:10
hey, don't forget to follow, subscribe, share, comment, all
1:13
those good things. It helps the show.
1:16
So let me tell you a little bit about Casea Early.
1:21
She literally went from solitary confinement, literally went from
1:26
solitary confinement to a powerhouse attorney.
1:28
She's lived on both sides of the justice system.
1:33
She's an award-winning trial litigator.
1:36
She's the founding attorney of early law firm.
1:39
She's tried over 100 trials to verdict and secured hundreds of
1:43
dismissals in less than 10 years.
1:46
However, 20 years ago, she was a criminal defendant.
1:51
Her senior year in college, she was arrested and charged with
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felony embezzlement for discounting shoes for family and
2:00
friends. When she was imprisoned, she was
2:04
four months pregnant and they put her in solitary confinement.
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It didn't break her. It made her who she is today, a
2:13
zealous advocate that helps her clients through their worst
2:16
nightmare. And she's won a lot of awards.
2:19
I'll just name a few of them. Top 40 under 40 National Trial
2:23
Attorneys Association Top 10 best attorneys award, most
2:27
influential and prominent women in business and industry award.
2:31
She's had several pro bono awards for her volunteer
2:33
service. I can't wait to unpack all this
2:37
with CASEA. But before we do, I want to
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Success sent you. Welcome in Casey, how are you?
3:22
I'm blessed, Brent. Thank you for having me.
3:24
Well, I got to tell you, I've, I've really been looking forward
3:27
to this because you're, we had this phone conversation.
3:31
We, we connected. I, I almost think we connected
3:34
over, I think we connect over Instagram.
3:39
We did. But anyway, we did.
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Yeah, but. I, I I started.
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Reading your, your, your stuff. And I thought, Oh my gosh, Oh
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my. And then Oh my gosh.
3:47
But I, I've here we are you, we've made it.
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We set the time. We're we're on Kasia.
3:55
You know, you, you have one of those stories.
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And I wanted, I want to take us back to the beginning, you know,
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because I think some of the things that happened to you as a
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little girl kind of set the mark on how you went through what you
4:09
went through. Can you take us back a little
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bit into little Casey's world and tell us what it was like for
4:15
you when you were a kid? Yeah, Well, filled with love.
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My dad is from Jamaica, my mom is from America, and I have the
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best of both worlds. You have the culture.
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You have the opportunity to be exposed to two separate worlds.
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So have a lot of siblings. I am one of eight children.
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That's a lot, but it is a lot. Where do you fall?
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Where do? You fall into.
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That I'm smack dab in the middle.
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So there was technically like the three older siblings that I
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have and then the younger siblings along the way.
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So I was kind of that middle child wedged in between, you
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know, trying to fit in with my older sisters and then playing
5:00
in the neighborhood clubhouses with my younger siblings.
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So had to kind of maneuver both sides.
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So my dad. Unfortunately is the story of
5:13
your life. It is right both sides.
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So my dad left the family. I was eight years old at the
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time. And so he leaves and my mom is
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basically stuck raising all of her children by my father, by
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herself. She never worked because he was
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always the breadwinner, the provider.
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So all I could remember was moving from this four bedroom
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house in North Miami, beautiful neighborhood to moving into the
5:45
inner city. And it was, it was obvious, just
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didn't quite understand what was going on.
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But I knew that I was in a different environment.
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But one thing my mother instilled in US was the
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importance of education. So not only did she instill that
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in US, I kind of saw it first hand because my mother nor my
6:03
father completed their high school education and I didn't
6:07
want that for myself. So early on I knew that I wanted
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a career as a lawyer, and that's kind of how I elevated to where
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I'm at today. What was it, though?
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You know, because you as a kid going through all that, what was
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there? Was there a somebody you saw out
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there that was an attorney? Was there somebody in your world
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that you thought I'd like? I want to be that no.
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I'm going to tell you what happened.
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I was 10 years old and on this particular date you're.
6:38
Going to tell that story. Yeah, on this particular date,
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so I didn't know I told you. So we had a teacher, I believe
6:45
it was a substitute teacher because it was kind of like the
6:47
icebreaker. So she comes in and she told the
6:50
class, I'm going to go around the room, make tell your name
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and tell me what you want to be when you grow up.
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And I sat towards the back of the class and everyone was
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taking the good answers, the lawyer, the doctor, the fireman,
7:03
policeman. And I just wanted to be
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different. So I'm, I'm wrecking my brain
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trying to figure out what, what do I want to be?
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Now? At that moment, I didn't know
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what I wanted to be, Right, Right.
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So I started looking up at the border of the classroom and
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that's where the presidents were lying, you know, the outside of
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the classroom. And so when she got to me, I
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said, I want to be the president, You know, that's it.
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And she didn't go to the next student.
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She stayed with me. And I'm like, what did I say
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wrong? And then she told me, she said,
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look up there, what do you see? And I said presidents.
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And she said, what else do you see?
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And I said, they're all men. And then she grilled me again.
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And although I was 10 years old, I, I really believe that that
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was my I knew what I heard about racial disparity.
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I heard about racism, I heard about black versus white, but
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I've never experienced it. So when she grilled me again and
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said, what else do you see? I said, they're all white.
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And then she said, exactly, choose another profession.
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And to this day, I can't even tell you what I chose.
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I just know how I felt. And so that day I go home and I
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walk home, there's six blocks to get home and I'm holding my
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tears because I don't want anyone to see me crying.
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And as soon as I get to my door, I just let it all out.
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And so my mom's asked me what's going on and I couldn't tell her
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at 1st and she's thinking the worst.
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And finally I told her my teacher told me I can't be the
8:30
president. And she's like, oh, I thought it
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was something else. But then after that, she
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followed that up with you can be whatever you want to be.
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And so I believed her. What?
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You, when you told me that story, we were on the phone and
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it, it sent chills up my spine because first of all, I think
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what a, a child is so impressionable at 10 years old
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and to, to have those big ideas. That's exactly what you want a
9:03
10 year old child to to shoot for the moon and to to tell a a
9:08
10 year old that they can't be that is wow, it's deep.
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Yeah, it is deep. And, you know, sometimes when I
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tell that I could feel the emotion coming back because I
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knew I was hurt. And.
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And if you want to dissect it, did I really want to be
9:25
president or did I want to be different?
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Didn't matter is the fact that my teacher told me that I
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couldn't do something. And like you said, teachers are
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supposed to inspire, nurture, encourage.
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And my mom made true on her promise.
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So what she did was when I turned 14, because I always,
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ever since then, she told me I could be president.
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I kept saying I'm going to be the first female president of
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the United States, right? And this is 32 years ago, by the
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way. So when I turned 14, she allowed
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me to move to DC to live with my aunt.
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And she said, well, the closer you are to the White House, the
10:03
closer you'll be to your dreams. So at that point, I didn't know
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the qualifications of what it required to be president, but I
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still wanted to be president. So I started researching the
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past presidents and I realized the majority were lawyers.
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So I said, OK, I'll work backwards.
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They were lawyers and they were politicians.
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So from there on, it was operation.
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I will become president. I will prove my teacher wrong.
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And my mom said I can do it. So I decided, OK, I'm going to
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be a lawyer 1st and then I'll run in politics and ultimately
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reach my destination. And that has been my goal ever
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since, until I thought that that dream of becoming a lawyer was
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pretty much diminished. OK, so let's get into that
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because, you know, you, you got out of high school, you went to
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college. It sounded to me like, Casey,
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that you were having a pretty normal college world existence.
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You know, you were doing school. You, you were, you had a job
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kind of like a lot of kids do, working their way through.
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Can you walk us through what happened?
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Yeah, and and that's truly what it was.
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I was working and I didn't just have a job.
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I had three jobs. So I did I worked overnight at
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hotel and then I would from 11:00 to 7:00 I would get go
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straight from work, shower, then go straight to class, get get to
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class by 8:00. I would do my morning classes
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and go to my second job in between at the school library it
11:49
was work study and then on the weekends I would work at a shoe
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store. So I had two-part time jobs, a
11:54
full time job, and I went to school full time.
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And that's because my mother did not have obviously raising eight
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children. She didn't have money to pay for
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my tuition. And although I had a good GPA,
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it wasn't high enough to pay for my entire tuition.
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So I had to pay for school. I had to work one of my jobs.
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I was working at a shoe store and when my friends found out,
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they would come to my line and I would discount the shoes beyond
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my employee discount. And I did that several times.
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And one particular day, I showed up to work as usual and I was
12:30
told to go into the backroom. And from that point, I already
12:34
knew because I was the top seller, I was the top employee.
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Everything I did was right, so why am I going to the backroom?
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But before then, I already knew something was, you have that gut
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feeling that something's not right.
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So I go to the backroom and I see my supervisor and manager,
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and they said that, you know, we pulled your register.
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We see that you're giving away discounts.
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How many times did you do it? And I just pulled a number out
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of the air. I said, I don't know, maybe 15
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times. And So what they did was they
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multiplied what they saw by 15, and that amounted to
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embezzlement. And because I was entrusted with
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the funds of the employer and I utilized that against store
13:20
policy. So she said, OK, we'll just sign
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here and we'll send you home. And I'm like, OK, I, I just want
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to go home. We'll fire you.
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We'll send you home. And so I signed that.
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I did it 15 times. And law enforcement knocked on
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the door and I was like, oh, shoot, what just happened?
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What did I just do? And I don't want to say that,
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you know, I was tricked into signing the paper.
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I take full responsibility. But what I want to say is I wish
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I would have known, not guests thinking I can go home after
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that because that kind of affected me.
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So now I'm escorted out in handcuffs and it, everything
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around me was moving in slow motion, 'cause I'm like, what
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just happened? Wait a minute, I'm in college, I
14:07
have class tomorrow. How do you do this, this jail
14:10
thing? I, I can't go to jail.
14:12
I'm a college student. And that process from being
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transported to jail and the booking process, Oh my goodness.
14:24
Well, I think the crazy thing about this story is, is that
14:27
there's so many kids in college and I, I think of, you know,
14:30
kids that were worked at the bar, you know, our local bar and
14:35
they would discount drinks all, all night long.
14:39
You know, if you had one of your fraternity brothers or someone
14:42
he knew that that was working the bar, they'd discount drinks
14:44
or they'd give away drinks. And you know, the the severity
14:49
of that is something you would think that somebody said, hey,
14:54
you know, just don't do that. That's something you know, that
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you've, you weren't, you weren't taking the money, KC.
15:00
You were discounting, you know, so it wasn't.
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Like you were. It wasn't like you were getting
15:05
hundreds of thousands or thousands of dollars into your
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pocket for discounted shoes. You're just discounting the
15:11
shoes that were being sold. So I understand that that
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someone can't do that because the business does what the
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business does and it has expenses and profits and all
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that. But it seems pretty extreme from
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the moment that you were talked to about it to have, I mean,
15:28
being let out in handcuffs. So anyway, what you go through
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this? What what's going through your
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mind when you're going through this process?
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I thought I was going to get kicked out of college.
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I thought I was going to get kicked out of my dorm, homeless.
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Every idea you could think of at the time.
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I'm thinking, you know, I guess it can't be a lawyer Now I'm,
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I'm about to graduate with a degree in political science.
15:53
And, and you know what also affected me?
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I remember they put us in a, a van.
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It was other arrestees in that van with us, no windows.
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So we're all just handcuffed to the seat and we're going to the
16:09
jail. And then I'm thinking, OK,
16:11
they're going to beat me up. Everything you can think of.
16:14
Because if you've never gone there, all you could think about
16:17
is what you see on TV, right? But then you get there and then
16:21
they have to strip search you. It's a invasive procedure.
16:26
You know, here's a funny thing. I don't think I even told anyone
16:30
this ring on my hand I had on since I was 15 years old.
16:34
And I get to the jail and they, they try to take it off like
16:38
about 1/2 hour. And I remembered one of the, one
16:43
of the sergeants said, you know, if you have to take that long to
16:46
take it off, leave it. And so I still have this ring
16:50
on. And I, I told my children, I
16:52
said I'm not taking it off until I'm this morning because it's a
16:55
reminder that you know, you've been to the bottom.
16:59
There's nowhere else to go but up but just being strip searched
17:03
and feeling violated it. It was a humiliating experience,
17:09
but it also made me better. So what happened next in this
17:14
whole process, Casey? It was because I know that there
17:18
was a situation. You had a, you had a graduation.
17:21
Yeah. You were going to walk, you
17:25
know, in ceremony. So how long does this whole
17:30
process take for you to get before you get to the judge and
17:35
there's a decision made? So this is in my junior, I mean
17:39
my senior year. So my arrest occurred October
17:42
30th, 2003. I was set to graduate in May
17:46
2004. So you go through the whole
17:49
process. Now, I'm not a lawyer.
17:53
I have a public defender. I don't check in if he doesn't
17:57
ask me any questions. I guess no news is good news.
18:01
The only thing I remember him telling me is, hey, you have a
18:03
final court date. And the worst that can happen to
18:07
you is you'll get probation. OK, fine.
18:09
I'll do probation. I, I did it.
18:11
I I don't want to fight it. So I arrived two weeks before my
18:15
graduation and we go through the plea and I accepted full
18:21
responsibility. And then I hear the judge say, I
18:25
hereby remand you into custody. And as the bailiff is walking
18:29
over to me attempting to put a handcuffs, I'm talking to my
18:33
lawyer. I said, you're not going to say
18:34
anything. You're not going to tell him
18:36
that I'm in college. You're not going to tell him
18:38
that I'm I'm a first time offender.
18:40
You told me I'm having this conversation as I see the
18:43
bailiff walking over and he's not saying anything.
18:47
And at that very moment is when I basically transform into a
18:53
college student into my own advocate.
18:56
And so with the handcuffs on me, I say to the judge, Your Honor,
19:00
I've said I accept full responsibility.
19:03
However, I'm set to graduate in two weeks.
19:06
I'm a first generation college graduate.
19:09
My entire family wants to witness me walking across the
19:13
stage. I promise you, if you allow me
19:16
to walk across the stage to get my degree in political science,
19:20
I will turn myself in. And I'm crying.
19:23
I didn't say it as eloquently as it, but that's what I said.
19:27
But I'm crying in the midst of it.
19:30
And he looks at me and he says, OK, if you do not turn yourself
19:35
in On this date, you're I'm sentencing you to three years in
19:39
prison. So they take the handcuffs off.
19:44
I walk across the stage, and then I literally transform again
19:50
and trade it in my cap and gown into a jailhouse jumpsuit.
19:55
How humbling is that? Well, well, I want to.
20:00
The next step of this I want to get deeper into.
20:03
Before we do, I'm going to recognize a show sponsor, the
20:07
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20:11
Podcast is sponsored by the White Collar Support Group, the
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I'm a member of the White Collar Support Group, and I can tell
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20:39
Start here. So you do you take your cap and
20:44
gown and you voluntarily turn yourself in.
20:51
What are the next steps like Casey ya.
20:56
Well, once I turned myself in, they place me into a cell with
21:01
two other females and we get there and I go on the top bunk
21:06
because that's like the worst bunk, right?
21:08
You have a bunk bed and then you have a solo bed.
21:11
The person with the most longevity gets the solo bed,
21:15
which is the best spot, and if you're last to come in, you get
21:17
the bunk bed. Now, I never told anyone I was
21:20
pregnant. I wasn't really showing and I
21:22
didn't think it was anyone's business.
21:23
Quite frankly, I was mad at the world.
21:28
Although at that point I didn't take responsible, full
21:30
responsibility because I felt like, you know, the punishment
21:33
didn't fit the crime. I felt that, you know, everyone,
21:37
it was everyone's fault except for mine.
21:39
So I went through that anger period.
21:41
Feather landed on you. That's right, that's right.
21:44
And that's exactly how I felt. So I came in custody with a chip
21:48
on my shoulder and I get on the top bump.
21:52
Well, that night I called my boyfriend at the time, who will
21:56
be celebrating 20 years of marriage in December, by the
21:59
way. Well.
22:00
How about that? And I called him and I said, and
22:03
I'm complaining about the food. I'm complaining that I have to
22:07
sleep on the top bump. Now, I knew that they recorded
22:10
the calls. I just didn't know people
22:12
actually listened to the calls and report back.
22:16
So because I'm complaining that I'm not getting enough food for
22:20
my baby and that they have me on the top bunk.
22:24
Well, unbeknownst to me, the next day I moved into solitary
22:29
confinement and it, it's explained to me that it's for my
22:33
safety because, you know, general population, females
22:36
fight, there's a liability and then we can't have you on the
22:40
top bunk. You fall another liability.
22:43
And I'm like, but I need someone to talk to.
22:45
I need someone to share my commentary to.
22:48
People don't realize that we're born to interact.
22:51
We're humans, right? And solitary confinement is
22:54
meant for punishment. But for me, it was meant for my
22:57
safety. But it was also, I felt that it
23:00
was punishment. It was just unbearable to, to
23:03
you and your thoughts for 23 hours out of the day.
23:06
So that was really the time that I spent.
23:10
Well, listen. Because, you know, solitary
23:14
confinement, a lot of guys that went to solitary confinement
23:16
when I was in prison, they came back looking a little bit
23:21
different just because of what you just explained.
23:23
And, you know, it can break some people.
23:25
And for some people, it's the time where they get so in touch
23:30
with the soul of who they are that they come out different in
23:33
a different way. So how long were you in solitary
23:36
confinement? It was a 30 day sentence in
23:39
solitary confinement. That's a long time.
23:42
Yeah, but you know what? You said something.
23:44
It's meant to either break you or make you.
23:46
I have to admit that it did both.
23:49
It did break me. It broke me initially because I
23:52
was angry at the world and I started to feel sick.
23:57
And it wasn't a nausea, nauseated feeling.
24:00
It was I was making myself sick because of the anger that I had
24:05
towards the system, towards the judge, towards my attorney.
24:10
And I'm actually glad that I was pregnant because I stopped
24:13
thinking about myself and I started thinking about this
24:16
unborn life inside of me. And I said, well, if I'm sick,
24:19
I'm going to make my baby sick. And so I again, transformation
24:24
seems to be the theme. I had to transform from this
24:28
angry person at society, take responsibility.
24:32
But for me, doing what I did, I probably wouldn't be here.
24:36
And then the growth afterwards. So it was really a mixture of
24:41
all three, but you have to learn from those experiences, so it
24:47
won't be. Interesting, really interesting.
24:49
Cuz I think that is so true. Cuz you know, mistakes,
24:54
everybody makes everybody makes mistakes.
24:56
And you know, my big thing about that is they, they don't define
25:01
you. They can make you better because
25:05
if you get afraid of making mistakes, then you don't grow
25:08
also. So you know, the, the, the idea
25:11
of mistakes defining you, they only define you if you continue
25:15
to make the same mistake over and over.
25:17
But you can grow from mistakes and find yourself and, and grow
25:21
from that. And it sounds like that's all
25:23
happened organically while you were in this solitary
25:27
confinement. It did and and I don't like have
25:30
to call what I did a mistake because sometimes a mistake is
25:33
doing something without, without prior knowledge.
25:36
Those are bad choices that I made.
25:39
And once I took responsibility, I was able to see, you know
25:43
what? I'm not my bad choice.
25:45
I'm not my past. So once I was released, there
25:49
was a seven-year gap, though, of me debating whether or not I
25:53
should go back or take the LSAT, go to law school and try.
25:58
And I had to kind of wrestle with my faith as well as with
26:03
fear. And ultimately, my faith
26:06
superseded my fear and I applied to go to law school.
26:10
OK, so let's talk about that a little bit too though, Casey,
26:13
because I think one of the toughest things is when you
26:16
experience something like that and you come back out re entry
26:20
into the world of I don't know what it is.
26:23
It's a vibe of shame, all just different things that go on.
26:29
How am I going to get back in? It's off plan, all these things
26:33
that happen. How did you step back in and
26:36
what did you do? He goes back to how I was
26:39
raised. So after my dad left my mom, she
26:43
kept us in church. I, I think that that was her
26:45
strong foundation. But when I went to college, I
26:49
was too busy to go to church to read my Bible and to have a
26:53
strong relationship with Christ. So when I was in jail, you know,
26:58
as clockwork, your breakfast, your buzz, your door buzzes and
27:02
you have about 15 seconds to get to your door to get your food.
27:05
Well, on this particular morning, as I was getting up out
27:08
of my bed, I felt like my legs were still sleeping.
27:11
I felt myself falling over in slow motion.
27:14
And as I was falling over, I had a split second decision.
27:17
If I fall on my knees, I'm going to bruise my knees.
27:19
But I have to protect my unborn child or I can fall on my belly
27:23
and to buffer my knees. So obviously, as a mother, I
27:26
fell on my knees. Now I'm crawling to the door to
27:29
get my food, and this is the pivotal moment that really
27:33
changed my life. In the midst of me crawl into
27:36
the door to get my food, it was like I was in a trance and I saw
27:40
a crossroads because my plan was Brent, I had already given up on
27:44
being a lawyer. Once I got out of jail, I was
27:47
going to move to New York because my minor was in fashion
27:50
merchandising and, you know, going to fashion well.
27:54
That doesn't surprise that you're in the.
27:55
Fashion. I love it right.
27:59
So the spirit of the Lord literally met me in my jail cell
28:02
and he showed me a vision that if I go to New York, it's not
28:05
going to work. And the other crossroads was,
28:08
but if you rededicate your life back to me, you'll be a lawyer.
28:12
And then after that vision went away, I'm like, am I
28:14
hallucinating in here? I didn't quite believe what I
28:18
saw, but I did. I followed Christ.
28:21
So I get out of jail. My my boyfriend at the time, we
28:25
both get baptized. We got married and year two goes
28:30
by, four goes by 5, seven years go by and I'm like, God, was
28:35
that really your voice? Because you told me if I
28:38
rededicate my life back to you, I'll be a lawyer.
28:41
Here it is year 7, but seven is the number of completion.
28:45
So I apply to go to law school. I get accepted because of my
28:49
LSAT score. I get a scholarship.
28:52
I'm still in DC now, but the school is in Florida.
28:55
That's how I ended up here. OK.
28:57
So now I have to uproot my entire family.
28:59
At the time I had three children, married, my husband
29:03
had his entire career. He gave up his career.
29:06
To come with you down there. To come down here.
29:09
Wow. So I get to law school.
29:12
The Dean of admissions meets me and says we'll accept you.
29:18
In fact, here's a scholarship. However, we want to warn you
29:21
that you can graduate from law school.
29:23
You can pass the bar, but we cannot guarantee you that the
29:27
Florida Bar will accept you due to your crime of dishonesty.
29:32
So this is your one last, whether or not you want to
29:35
register. And you know what I did, Brent,
29:37
I remembered the promise of God and I said I'm going to go
29:40
forward because this is my opportunity to see if that was
29:44
really a vision from the Lord. And so again, my faith
29:49
superseded my fear. So I graduated, I passed the bar
29:54
and I get to Tallahassee and I sit before a board of five
29:58
people and for three hours they grilled me about every aspect of
30:04
my life. At times it was super emotional
30:08
because I felt like the scum of the earth and at times I
30:12
answered those questions with my head held high.
30:16
And two weeks later, on September 30th, I believe in
30:21
2014, I was sworn into the bar. They accepted me.
30:26
And so basically that's a full transformation of the testimony
30:30
and validation of I didn't go crazy in my jail cell.
30:34
The Lord met me and His promises are yay and Amen.
30:38
I got to say there's, there's something you and I talked about
30:41
before we got on that is such a perfect point to what you just
30:45
said is that our, our record never goes away.
30:51
Being a felon, ex felon. We live with it all the way
30:57
through our lives. It's how we handle it.
30:59
And I think what you just said, Casey, you decided, you made a
31:04
point to decide I'm going to fight.
31:06
I'm going to fight, I'm going to battle through this because I, I
31:09
can, I can tell my story. I know who I am.
31:13
And, and they grilled you. They, they, they tried to come
31:16
at you from all angles, but you were who you were because of
31:19
what you went through. And I'm sure that that board
31:24
went back and talked and said, you know, this is the type
31:26
person we need. These are the type people we
31:28
need. But there's so many people
31:33
because of the fear of being rejected, because of the fear of
31:37
the unknown of what would happen.
31:39
What will they think? What will people think of me
31:42
stops people in their tracks. And, and what you did, you did
31:47
it for a lot of people, you know, because you're, you're a
31:51
trailblazer in the sense that there are people who need to be
31:56
attorneys that have gone through a an event that has made a
32:01
record for them. And it shouldn't be the end, but
32:04
they think it should be. And what you did is you're
32:07
proving that if you have belief, if you have belief in yourself,
32:11
step into the unknown and see what happens and look what
32:15
happened. You became a an incredible
32:18
attorney that. Helps.
32:20
I always say people. Yeah.
32:23
And listen, I always tell people, fear will paralyze your
32:27
success. And when I look back over my
32:29
life, some of the things that I did, I was like, you know what?
32:33
I'm just going to do it. What do I have to lose?
32:35
And I'm talking about going to law school, applying to law
32:37
school, sitting for the bar, you know, just all of the things.
32:42
Your past indiscretions should not be a life sentence.
32:46
It should be a lesson learned. You move forward, you know?
32:50
But you're absolutely right. I to this day, I have so many
32:53
awards I can't even count top ten, Top 40, top 100.
32:56
It's impressive, but there's times where I'll meet someone
33:00
for the first time and whether they knew my story before or
33:04
they find out after, they always inquire because, you know, a
33:08
crime of dishonesty, a crime of money is frowned upon, you know,
33:12
and you want to say, no, no, no, I'm not a thief.
33:14
That was when I was 20 years old, that that's not who I am.
33:17
And by the way, I didn't steal out a register.
33:19
It's like you want to explain yourself.
33:22
Not anymore, not any. I am so beyond that, you know,
33:26
and I'm I'm glad that that occurred.
33:27
And here's why. Because it taught me the value
33:31
of integrity. It taught me the value of
33:34
honesty. And even running my own law
33:36
practice, I handle hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting in
33:41
my trust account. And I'm not tempted whatsoever
33:45
because first and foremost, I have the Spirit of the Lord
33:48
living inside of me, and I'm guided by that principle.
33:51
So I can't be tempted by that. I'm an overcomer.
33:54
So what you think of me, whether it's my past or if you're trying
33:58
to hold that over my head, that has no bearing because
34:02
ultimately we all sin and fall showed of God's glory.
34:04
There's no one that's righteous and holy and pure.
34:07
So I'm reminded that I can't feel bad about the past because
34:11
there's nothing you can do to change it, but you can project
34:14
and have a better future. And that's, I think this is what
34:17
we're trying to relate to your audience.
34:19
And it's, and it's, it's such a big.
34:20
And the other thing that I, I think that we, we've kind of
34:23
skirted over, but I think it's a, it's a big thing, is that you
34:27
and your husband have also walked through this journey
34:29
together. You know, and that whatever that
34:34
is, that means something that you have this balance to have
34:39
somebody that supports you, believes in you.
34:43
And, you know, I think I want to talk about too, like when you
34:47
first get Casey, that opportunity to represent
34:53
somebody and walk into that probably a jail.
34:59
What was that like for you, that first client of being on the
35:03
other side of the world, the complete other side of the
35:06
world? You know, to this day, most of
35:08
my clients, I, I, I represent some serious cases, murder
35:11
cases, sexual battery, they don't get a bond, right?
35:14
So I usually see them once a week.
35:17
That feeling never goes away when I walk up those stairs to
35:20
go freely without being exported.
35:23
And when I leave, it's like I'm always thanking God that I'm
35:26
leaving on my own free will. I'm entering it on my own free
35:29
will. It gave me more empathy and
35:32
compassion for my clients. I never forget.
35:34
I start off as a public defender and when I first saw my clients,
35:38
they usually come into court and they sit where the jury sit and
35:42
they have all the inmates over there.
35:44
And naturally, I just went close to my client and I'm I'm
35:49
touching him on his shoulder. You know, I was very personal
35:52
and I never forget this attorney said you don't know what they
35:54
have you, you don't get too close to them.
35:58
And by the way, my my colleague didn't know that I was
36:01
previously incarcerated and that was a teachable moment for her.
36:06
I said they have just as many germs on them as we have.
36:10
I said it doesn't make me better than than them.
36:12
And I said besides, and I threw the Constitution back at her.
36:15
I said they're innocent until proven guilty.
36:17
You know, this is just formality.
36:20
And every client, I treat them with the utmost respect.
36:24
From the time that I was a public defender, it didn't
36:26
change my representation. It didn't change from now when
36:30
I'm a private attorney, but that emphasis with the and
36:33
compassion. And I think that's why I was
36:35
able to get so many acquittals. It's because I lawyer from the
36:39
heart and I always say no. It in my head I'm like, no, no,
36:42
no, I don't want my client to be found guilty because I don't
36:44
want them to experience what I experienced.
36:46
And I, I just give it my all. So I, I feel like that chill
36:50
experience it, it propelled me and made me into the person I am
36:56
today and it made me stronger. They say you'd be so good in
37:00
front of a jury. I can't.
37:02
I'm telling you, I love it. I love it.
37:04
But you but seriously though, that that that passion does come
37:08
true. I mean it, it's, it's something
37:11
that people you're vulnerable, authentic and whatever the
37:16
whatever that intangible thing is, people feel that and and I
37:19
think and you want that from your attorney, obviously, but
37:24
you want it from everybody. But particularly when your, when
37:27
your freedom is on the line, you want someone passionate, you
37:31
want someone that believes and who has a vulnerability that
37:36
knows what you're going through. Those are all such big things
37:40
that I, I hope you know that people listening to this who are
37:46
stuck and they might have, you know, a great brilliant brain
37:50
and they, they've been afraid either they lost their license
37:53
or they think they should get their law license.
37:55
Because if we have more people like that in the justice system,
38:01
it helps balance it. It's those scales.
38:03
It helps balance because these people know, they know what it's
38:07
like, they feel it, they know it.
38:09
And, and I think it means that much more when somebody's
38:12
looking for that desperation of please help me.
38:17
And, and that person who who knows it and has walked it is
38:20
the one that's leading them through it is, is a big deal.
38:23
Yeah, it is. And you know, I want to just
38:26
tell you this quick story because typically I don't go
38:29
around in court telling the judge, you know, unless they
38:32
Google my name. I don't say, hey, by the way, I
38:34
was arrested. So in my entire 10 years of
38:37
practice, I only utilized myself as an example twice.
38:41
And I remember my my client was set to go to jail for 15 years.
38:46
He was just caught red handed and it was up to the judge to
38:49
issue the sentencing. And I remember I just started
38:53
speaking to the judge. I said, your honor, you know, X
38:57
amount of years ago I was incarcerated.
38:59
And I said gel is good for some reasons.
39:01
I said, but gel can be detrimental for others.
39:04
I said, in this particular instance, I'm asking you to give
39:08
him this sentence instead. And I never forget.
39:11
I don't know if he looked at me like, oh, I never knew you went
39:14
to jail or wow, you just made yourself, you know, you just
39:18
opened up yourself to the court on behalf of your client.
39:22
But instead of him serving 15 years, the judge gave him 15
39:28
weekend sentences. So he had to check himself in
39:31
and check himself out. And I was like, wow.
39:35
And then he told him, on top of that, I'm only doing this
39:38
because of your lawyer. So talk about fighting for your
39:41
clients. You have to have a passion for
39:44
it. Got to have a passion.
39:46
Well, you have been all over the news and one of the things that
39:52
that I think is so impressive about you, you went into running
39:56
because you know, in this world, the state the judges run for for
40:01
election and I forget was there. Gosh.
40:06
How many hundreds of thousands of votes were there?
40:08
115,100. And 15. 1115 thousand for my
40:13
opponent and it was a difference of 317 votes 300 and. 17 votes.
40:19
Yeah. And this was a sitting judge
40:21
who'd been on the on the bench for a while.
40:24
Yeah. And you were 317 votes away from
40:26
that, which is amazing. You went through a really,
40:30
really tough election, and it's possible that you could be in a
40:40
position to be a judge. And what an incredible thing
40:44
that would be. Casey.
40:45
Yeah. Yes, and I don't dismiss that.
40:50
So with that, and again, that goes to not letting fear
40:55
paralyze your success. I just saw a problem and I
40:58
believe that I was a solution to that problem, which is why I
41:01
ran. I mean, I, I, at the time that I
41:03
ran, I had a very lucrative law firm and I would have been
41:07
taking a cut, but I thought that I can.
41:10
Sometimes you have to lead with your heart and in your heart's
41:14
desire and then the money will follow you later on.
41:16
So yes, I did run for Judge and I don't even see it as a failure
41:20
because one thing running for judge was it taught me politics,
41:24
right? So on this road.
41:26
Talked about as. Politics, exactly that road to
41:28
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. you know, and I always say, you know, that
41:32
was a dry run because I didn't know how to be a politician, but
41:36
I knew how to be myself. And there were times I was on
41:39
the campaign trail and people would say, you don't look like a
41:42
lawyer, you're going to be a judge, you're too happy or
41:45
you're too this. But that's what connected to the
41:47
people. But you know what else connected
41:49
to the people? That I was open and honest about
41:52
my path. And I used that.
41:55
And I said, listen, 20 years ago, 18 years ago, I was
41:58
incarcerated. But don't judge me for what I
42:00
did 18 years ago. Judge me for what I've been
42:03
doing for the past 18 years, for my community, for the legal
42:07
system, for the justice system. And when I tell you, people will
42:11
come up to me after I gave my presentation with tears.
42:16
And sometimes we fight so hard to be successful that we don't
42:20
even recognize how successful we are.
42:22
Like there was a time that we're like, wow, I, I really did that.
42:26
Or I really convinced the jury that my client was not guilty
42:29
for first and re murder. I, I did that because we're in
42:33
the moment. But when I saw so many people
42:35
inspired and they actually voted for me, knowing that I went to
42:39
jail. Knowing the reason for probably.
42:42
Yeah, they knew everything. Rated the whole you.
42:46
They knew it all and they still thought and saw fit for me to be
42:49
on the bench. So for that I say to be
42:51
continued. I'm not.
42:55
I'm not running now, but in the future you'll see my.
42:58
Name again. And your kids have done well.
43:00
I I was reading that you're the oldest son who who's on
43:05
scholarship of college. It the whole thing You.
43:09
You've done well, Casey. Yeah.
43:12
Yeah, and, and to answer your question for your your
43:14
listeners, yes, when I was pregnant with my son, that same
43:19
son that I was pregnant with while I was in jail is on a full
43:23
scholarship. He's in his second year of
43:26
college for academic and football.
43:29
And even this morning, he'll call me every morning.
43:31
Mom, you're reading your Bible. So you have to instill in
43:34
integrity and loving your children.
43:36
You train up a child, So what is he playing football?
43:39
By the way, what's? Running.
43:41
Back running back north. Carolina.
43:45
Wow, North Carolina running, I love it.
43:48
I love it and the and this and the season's starting this week,
43:52
so it's it's all good. It's.
43:54
All Yeah. Oh yeah, this is a football
43:56
house here. It is.
43:59
Well, Casey, I, I think what you have done, how you have lived
44:04
your life, how you've gotten through it, It's, it's a true
44:07
inspiration. I think it, you know, if if
44:11
anybody's looking for a Netflix series out there to produce,
44:13
this is the one. This is the.
44:15
Casey. Story Casey, I always ask
44:20
people, you know this question, after all of this, you've been
44:24
through your whole journey of where you're at now.
44:27
What do you think's your biggest take away?
44:32
My biggest take away is the fact that fear did not paralyze me
44:39
and faith over fear as we explained and one of my favorite
44:43
scriptures. I'll leave you with this because
44:44
this is who I am. This is ingrained in me.
44:47
Psalm 121 verses one and two. I'll look to the hills for
44:50
what's cometh my help. My help comes from the Lord, the
44:53
maker of heaven and earth. And when you think about the
44:56
vastness of, of the clouds itself, it minimizes the problem
45:02
or the problems that you have. And there's times in my
45:05
stressful career that I'm dealing with the burdens of 15
45:09
people at one time, and I'll just feel weighed down.
45:13
It's OK to take a step away and just look up.
45:18
Just look up, because the same God that took me from the
45:22
jailhouse to God's house to the courthouse is the same God that
45:27
can take me to the White House. So that's what I don't give up.
45:31
I'm, I'm wait, I can't wait for you to be in the White House.
45:35
We need Casey early in the the White House.
45:39
That 10 year old. Girl needs to be.
45:40
In the White House, and I approve that message.
45:46
And for those who who want to get a hold of Casey, I guess the
45:50
easiest way is through the early lawfirm.com is that the best way
45:54
to get a hold of you and then? My first, yeah,
45:57
myfirstandlastname.com. Yeah, myfirstandlastname.com is
46:01
my website, kcorearly.com, that's the main site.
46:05
And of course, I'm on social media.
46:07
And if you want to know more about my gel experience, you can
46:10
just always Google my first and last name and it'll pop up in
46:14
detail. That is awesome.
46:17
I love it, love all of everything that's that you've
46:21
gone through and how you've done it.
46:22
And I, you know, the biggest take away is, is that fear
46:25
didn't paralyze you. And, and that's right.
46:27
That's such a great, solid, strong message.
46:30
And it's a great message to end on because that is your story.
46:34
But it should be everybody's story because we, we've all got
46:37
prisons we've built up in our own mind.
46:38
We've got to knock them down. But the way to knock them down
46:41
is not to be paralyzed by fear. And the only way to do that is
46:44
to step, step, step forward. One step at a time.
46:47
That is a great message and I thank you, Brent, for utilizing
46:50
your platform to encourage those because often times people
46:54
that's incarcerated are looked upon as the least of those, but
46:58
they are the greatest of society once they turn it around.
47:02
I love it. Well, and for those out there
47:06
talking about gratitude, I want to thank Homestead Financial for
47:09
letting me use this podcast room.
47:12
For anybody who's looking for a book out there, I've got one
47:14
Nightmare Success. It's on Amazon, Barnes and
47:16
Noble, and I just got a new website.
47:20
Speaking of websites, it just went live 2 weeks ago.
47:23
Brent cassie.com. I spell it wrong.
47:25
I spell it with a Ty and then a DY.
47:28
As I used to say to my people when I was writing my emails
47:31
back and forth from Leavenworth, stay strong.
47:34
I'll do the same. Casey early, keep doing
47:37
everything you're doing. I'd love to just clone you and
47:39
take you all across the country. You are awesome.
47:43
Thank you so much. Likewise.
47:45
Bye, I'm your success in and out.