Meet #MOLawyers: Hon. Richard Callahan (ret.)

Hon. Richard Callahan is a St. Louis native and graduate of Georgetown University School of Law. His 30-year career as a state prosecutor included six years with the St. Louis circuit attorney, eight years as a special prosecutor with Cole County, and 16 years as the Cole County prosecutor. He was elected circuit judge in 2002 and later served two terms under President Barack Obama as United States attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri. He returned to the bench and then resigned in February 2021 to be appointed special prosecutor. He now jokingly describes himself as retired except when he forgets to say “no.” 

During his time as a judge, Callahan has ruled on several high-profile issues, including campaign finance, voter ID, and separate cases brought by the Innocent Project in which he freed two men who had wrongfully been serving life sentences. During The Missouri Bar’s Annual Meeting, Sept. 17-19 in Branson, Callahan will sit on a panel with Darryl Burton, one of those wrongfully convicted men he freed.

How do you handle the pressure of highly publicized cases? 

"The fastest way to get into trouble is to treat a case differently because of publicity. The St. Louis Post Dispatch once described my courtroom as a 'switchyard of controversial cases,’ but I never felt the least bit of pressure that came with the publicity and, in fact, enjoyed the intellectual challenges that many of the cases presented. That is not to say that I was tone deaf to the effect a decision might have on public perception, but there is a vital difference between being aware of consequences versus being influenced. My allegiance was and is to the facts and the law.” 

How did your time as a prosecutor influence your time as a judge? 

"For me, the transition from prosecutor to judge was seamless because I believe the prosecutor’s duty to justice creates competing but identical obligations of fairness to both defendants and victims. I think the discipline of having to make daily charging decisions as a prosecutor lends itself to the challenge of timely decision-making required of judges, and the biggest complaint I hear from lawyers about judges is their delay in ruling. Still, I readily acknowledge that we need judges with all different backgrounds and experiences.” 

What advice would you give to new lawyers? 

"First, no cause, case, or client is worth sacrificing your integrity. 

"Second, it’s okay to have plans but stay open to where life takes you. The only elective courses I took in law school were business or tax related because I was going to be a tax lawyer. I only joined a prosecutor’s office out of law school so I would be able to better represent my tax clients in court. Thirty years later, someone else was doing my taxes and I was still a prosecutor. 

"And third, always be considerate and respectful of your fellow lawyers and opposing parties. It’s the right thing to do, but if that’s not reason enough, remember what goes around comes around.” 

What is the one thing on your bucket list you are determined to do? 

"My hobby is breeding homing pigeons. I have two lofts on our property, raise over a hundred youngsters every year, and enter them in various one-loft races throughout the United States and abroad … There are five or six major races every year where several thousand pigeons are competing and first place is worth $100,000-$200,000. I hope one day to win one of these major races.” 

Answers have been edited for clarity, brevity, and style. Know a lawyer who you think should be featured in “Meet #MOLawyers”? Email Assistant Editor Genna Tlustos at gtlustos@mobar.org.