Hon. Frederick J. Casey ’67
The Honorable Frederick J. Casey ’67 passed away on August 10 at age 83. Casey was born in Brainerd, where he attended Washington High School. He graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead in 1964 and was a 1967 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School.
After Law School, Casey began his law practice in Brainerd until 1993, when he was appointed district court judge for Crow Wing County. He served there until his retirement in 2008.
Michael F. Cromett ’78
Michael F. Cromett ’78 passed away on May 21 at age 70. His entire professional career was devoted to the Ramsey County Public Defender and the State Appellate Public Defender offices (1978-2013), where he practiced his beliefs and protected the rights of countless clients charged with or convicted of crimes who could not afford an attorney.
Cromett was highly respected as both a trial lawyer and an appellate lawyer. His comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the rules of evidence and criminal procedure, the Constitution, and case law made him an effective advocate at every stage of the process. As an appellate attorney at the State Appellate Public Defender’s Office, his legal expertise was legendary, and he was constantly sought out to brainstorm legal issues. He argued over 90 cases before the Minnesota Supreme Court and filed hundreds of briefs with the appellate courts. In addition to his work as a public defender, Cromett was a founder of the Innocence Project of Minnesota (now known as the Great North Innocence Project). He was a founding board member and instrumental in establishing the organization. That groundwork has continued for nearly 25 years, bringing 13 people to freedom from wrongful conviction, as well as changing laws and policies to help prevent wrongful convictions.
Hon. Richard C. Luis ’74
The Honorable Richard C. “Rick” Luis ’74, passed away on June 28 at age 79. He was born in Maryland. His family later moved to Minnesota. When Luis was 15 years old, he was selected to represent Minnesota at Camp Rising Sun, a leadership camp for promising youth from around the world in Upstate New York. His experiences there inspired him to take an international view of life, to make friends from around the world, and to support the foundation enabling the camp throughout his life.
He graduated from Shakopee High School in 1963, where he was a National Merit Scholar. He went on to Yale University, graduating with a history major in 1967. He then started at the University of Minnesota Law School before being drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as an atomic demolitions specialist in Germany. After leaving the Army, he held several jobs with the State of Minnesota before returning to the Law School and graduating in 1974. In 1977, he married fellow Minnesota Law alum Juanita “Nita” Bolland ’77.
As an administrative law judge for the State of Minnesota, he tried about 6,000 cases spanning 85 of Minnesota’s 87 counties. He was proud to officiate at some of the first LGBTQIA+ marriages in Minnesota.
William M. Mahlum ’65
William M. Mahlum ’65 passed away on June 10 at age 85. Mahlum was born in St. Cloud and raised in Duluth by his mother after the early death of his father. He, together with his four older siblings, carried a deep sense of generosity, purpose, and joy throughout his life. After graduating from Duluth Central High School, he went on to earn his undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota and his J.D. from Minnesota Law. Early in his legal career, he moved with his young family to Washington, D.C., where he worked for a U.S. congressman and then on Hubert H. Humphrey’s presidential campaign. He returned to St. Paul in 1968, when he met and co-founded a law practice with future St. Paul Mayor George Latimer.
His professional life was devoted to creating lasting, positive change. He led efforts to improve public transit accessibility for people with disabilities in the Twin Cities, served as the first chair of Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, and played a key role in founding the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, where he later served on the board of directors. As general counsel to District Energy St. Paul until his retirement in 2013, Mahlum helped build and sustain an innovative, renewable energy system.
Rebecca Egge Moos ’77
Rebecca Egge Moos ’77 passed away on August 13 at age 78. Moos remained connected to Minnesota Law throughout her career and served as the former chair of the Law School’s Board of Advisors. She joined Bassford Remele (then Richards, Montgomery, Cobb & Bassford) in 1977 as the firm’s first female attorney and was named its first female chief executive officer in 2005. During her career there, she defended and counseled leading health care organizations and earned a reputation as one of the most formidable, professional, and effective trial lawyers in the state.
Moos’s many accomplishments as one of Minnesota’s groundbreaking female lawyers, including being named Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer, did not go unnoticed. District Court Judge Kathryn Messerich, once a colleague of Moos, said that “with grace and good humor” she worked through a time when their mutual clients didn’t really believe that women could effectively try cases. “She paved the way for many women who fortunately will not have to deal with the presumption that their gender would make them less than effective advocates.” Recognizing her exemplary work on behalf of its firm, Bassford Remele said that beyond her achievements, “Becky will be remembered for her extraordinary mentorship, her steady and calming presence, her humor, her perseverance, and her unwavering dedication to professionalism.”
Hon. Ancy L. Morse ’59
The Honorable Ancy L. Morse ’59 passed away on May 3 at age 90. Morse was born in Bemidji and spent her childhood years in International Falls. There, she was active in the outdoors enjoying fishing, hunting, swimming, and skating. She met her future husband, Bob Morse, as a young girl, and they were married in 1958.
Morse attended the University of Minnesota and graduated from the Law School in 1959, the only woman in her law class of 167. She and her husband then moved to California while he was in the U.S. Air Force. The couple later returned to Minnesota, where she began practicing law with the Hennepin County Legal Aid Department while Bob was in medical school. They then made their home in Rochester, where she set up her law practice, and he started his residency at Mayo Clinic. Later reflecting on her legal career, Morse said she believed that when she began practicing in 1963, she was the only female lawyer in Olmsted County. After practicing family law for 20 years, she was appointed to the Third Judicial District bench by Gov. Rudy Perpich in 1983 and was the first woman district court judge outside the Twin Cities.
She said she was aware of criticism of her appointment within the Rochester legal community because her full-time practice may have been perceived as part-time because she often set her own hours to work around family affairs while raising four children. At the time, she said, “It’s very obvious to me that being a woman was in my favor. This is the time in our society (for women to take on critical roles). But what was also a factor in my favor was that I am qualified.”
Hon. James D. Rogers ’54
The Honorable James D. Rogers ’54 passed away on August 30 at age 96. Rogers was a judge of Hennepin County District Court and sat on the bench for just shy of 30 years. At one time he and his father, Judge Harold Rogers, were members in the same court.
Rogers actively supported the University of Minnesota Law School as a member of the William B. Lockhart Club. He also supported many other areas of the University, including the College of Veterinary Medicine, Gopher Athletics, the Landscape Arboretum, and was a member of the Heritage Society of the University of Minnesota Foundation.
Hon. William P. Zuger ’72
The Honorable William P. Zuger ’72, passed away on August 8 at age 78. Zuger was a 1964 graduate of Bismarck (N.D.) High School, attended Carleton College, and graduated from the University of Minnesota. He went on to earn a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1972.
Zuger joined his father, John Zuger ’37, and his brother, John A. Zuger ’67, in the Zuger and Bucklin law firm, which his grandfather, Alfred Zuger (Class of 1894), had established in 1909. A short time after his father’s death, he practiced in his own firm, Zuger Law Offices. He retired as a trial lawyer in 1996. In 2006, Zuger was appointed temporary chief judge of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Court in Fort Yates, N.D. He was re-elected as a tribal judge, serving two additional four-year terms. ❘❘❘❘