Biography

Personal: Born in Korea as son of its national poet (January 20, 1940) and came to the United States in January of 1966. Residing in North Carolina ever since. Naturalized citizen of the USA.

Education: BA in English from Campbell College (1969), MA in English from UNC-Greensboro (1972), MS in Library Science from UNC-Chapel Hill (1975), and JD from NCCU Law School (1988)

Careers: Writer and poet, 1958-1973; professional librarian, 1975-1985; lawyer, 1989-current

Practice: Practiced in criminal law in District and Superior Courts of Wake County over 20 years (except for capital cases). Practiced also in federal courts. Practiced in immigration law. Admitted to practice in the US. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Tried numerous jury trials in Federal and State Superior Courts. Memorable acquittals and hung juries include State v. Montgomery. Tried numerous District Court cases. Admitted to practice, April, 1989.

Integrity: Chaired the Human Relations and Human Resources Advisory Commission of Raleigh, 1994-1995. Petitioned Governor James Martin for pardon of Chong France and won commutation for her-the story covered in News and Observer and PBS. Currently represents Erika Cruz-Romero, 12 year old Salvadoran girl who traveled mostly on foot from Acajutla, El Salvador, to Brownsville, Texas To find her father in Durham, NC, in the Immigration Court. Her story appeared in Herald Sun, News Observer, Tele-Mundo, NBC, and CNN. She was granted deferral by the U.S.I.C.E on January 3, 2006. Elected to and served on the Boards of Directors of the Wake County Bar Association and the 10th Judicial.