Deputy D.A. Makes Case Against Disability : Careers: David Lehr has never let cerebral palsy hold him back. The Ventura attorney believes in the philosophy: ‘Use what you’ve got.’

David Lehr, a rookie Ventura County prosecutor born with cerebral palsy, acknowledges that his condition may have benefited him on occasion.

Such was the case when Lehr plastered campaign signs on his walker during a bid for 10th-grade class president at Chatsworth High School.

To say the least, the strategy did not impress Lehr’s opponent, who was trounced.

“Doesn’t it bother you that some people are voting for you because they are feeling sorry for you?” the sulking opponent asked.

Recalling the anecdote last week, Lehr smiled sheepishly and said: “Use what you’ve got.”

Many people say that the 26-year-old Ventura resident, who doctors predicted would never walk on his own, has done just that.

At age 10, he ditched his walker during a Special Olympics race. In high school, he won the class presidency. In 1990, he received a bachelor’s degree at UC Santa Barbara. Two years ago, he earned his law degree. And last April, he was tabbed for one of the 19 sought-after openings as a Ventura County deputy district attorney.

But success for Lehr has not come without extraordinary challenges, some frustrations and a few major setbacks.

Supervising prosecutors at the district attorney’s misdemeanor unit said they hired Lehr after he did a sound job during a short stint as a temporary worker.

“It was very apparent to us that David could do the job,” said the unit’s supervisor, Deputy Dist. Atty. Nancy Ayers. “It wasn’t part of the hiring decision that, ‘Yes, we were going to give him the job because he is disabled, or we were not going to give him the job because he is disabled.’ ”

But other potential employers were not so open-minded, Lehr said.

He was continually passed over for positions with private law firms after graduating from Golden Gate University in San Francisco in December, 1992, and passing the State Bar.

“I believe every employer has a doubt when they see me walk in for an interview,” Lehr said. “I know if they hire me I’ll do a better job than most other people because my willpower will outlast anybody with functional legs.”

No one has ever directly mentioned Lehr’s condition in rejecting him for a job.

“They never say that that was the reason,” Lehr explained. “But when they are talking afterward, they mention a few other things--and they all have to do with my cerebral palsy.”

The exact number of Ventura County residents with cerebral palsy is not known, but 163 county residents with the condition receive government medical services, officials said.

Cerebral palsy is a motor disorder characterized by spastic paralysis. It often occurs at birth or in early childhood and results from damage to the central nervous system.

In Lehr’s case, he did not breathe during his first four to six minutes of life. That cut off oxygen to his brain, causing damage to some brain cells, he said.

The condition sends constant signals to his muscle groups, Lehr said, leading to some involuntary muscle reactions. Lehr, however, learned to counteract those reactions through physical therapy, he said.

Some people afflicted with cerebral palsy have no control over their muscles and remain in a fetal position or must use wheelchairs. Lehr said he is “about halfway down the scale.”

Lehr uses a cane to get around. He walks with an unsteady gait, and sometimes has difficulty controlling the movements of his muscles.

“When I get real excited, and I’m not concentrating on relaxing, I have a hard time making normal movements,” he said.

It was after a 40-yard dash in a Special Olympics competition that Lehr, in the middle of a football stadium, put down his walker.

“For some reason, and I have no idea why, I just let it go and started walking,” he remembered.

His mother was pleasantly surprised, considering that doctors had said her son would never get around without a walker. “Mom took a picture and cried a lot,” Lehr recalled.

Since then, he has had to use the walker only occasionally, like during the 10th-grade election for class president.

Lehr said his real love--besides law--is politics. He has been running for offices since sixth grade.

In high school, he once spent a couple hundred dollars on a race for class president. But his opponent still did him one better.

“I went to a fairly wealthy high school, and I’m not wealthy,” he said. “My opponents would staple their names to candy wrappers or balloons. Somebody bought like 50 T-shirts with everybody’s names on them at $10 apiece.”

It’s one reason Lehr felt comfortable putting campaign signs on his walker.

He finished law school in just six semesters, the minimum allowed by the American Bar Assn. It was after passing the State Bar exam in spring, 1993, that Lehr began having trouble landing a job.

The Ventura County district attorney’s office was in a hiring freeze because of a budget crisis. And private law firms apparently did not think a person with cerebral palsy could do the job, Lehr said.

So last October he did the only thing he could. He began working as a volunteer in the district attorney’s juvenile unit, where he won 54 of 58 cases.

“He’s hard-working, he’s committed,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Karen Block, a juvenile prosecutor. “To do the same job physically as anyone else takes him an incredible amount of effort--little things you don’t think about on a day-to-day basis. He’s about one of the smartest people I’ve met.”

He has also brought levity to the often staid quarters of the district attorney’s office.

Swiping stationery from Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury, Lehr sent memos to the other new prosecutors announcing a swearing-in ceremony April 1 in Courtroom 28 of the Hall of Justice.

Problem is, no such courtroom exists. But many of his colleagues, excited about the occasion, fell for Lehr’s April Fools’ Day prank. It was only after some of them started phoning their parents and arranging for them to attend the ceremony from out of town that Lehr fessed up.

Lehr, who wants to run for Congress in 1998, said he hopes his accomplishments illustrate that people with cerebral palsy can live productive lives. His dream is to run for President.

If those aspirations ever come true, he said, he doesn’t plan on using a walker during the campaign--unless he has to.