PERSONAL:
Born in Korea as son of its national poet (January 20, 1940) and came to the United States in January, 1966. Residing in North Carolina ever since. Naturalized citizen of the U. S.A.
CAREERS:
Writer and poet, 1958-1973; professional librarian, 1975-1985; lawyer, 1989-
PRACTICE:
Practiced in criminal law in District and Superior Courts of Wake County over 16 years (except for capital cases). Practiced also in federal courts. Practiced in immigration law. Admitted to practice in the U. S. Fourth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals and in the U. S. Supreme Court. Tried numerous jury trials in Federal and state superior courts. Admitted to practice, April, 1989.
PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE AND INTEGRITY:
Chaired the Human Relations and Human Resources Advisory Commission of Raleigh, 1994-95. 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, Telemundo, 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 District Bar, 1996-1997, 2003-2004, 2012-2013. Founded the award winning Lunch with a Lawyer program of the Public Service Committee, Wake County Bar Association in 1995, and has been running it successfully every year for the past 18 years.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP:
Member of Wake County Bar Association and the Tenth Judicial District Bar, North Carolina Advocates for Justice, North Carolina Bar Association, DC Bar Association, American Immigration Lawyers Association, American Association for Justice, and American Bar Association. Admitted to practice in the U. S. Supreme Court, 2011.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:
Founded (in 1995), co-chaired and chaired "Lunch with a Lawyer"--a joint public service program of the Wake County Bar Association and the City of Raleigh for the past seventeen years. This mentorship program for minorities has received awards and recognitions from the City of Raleigh, the Human Relations and Human Resources Advisory Commission of Raleigh, Wake County Bar Association, and North Carolina Bar Association. Served on the Human Relations and Human Resources Advisory Commission of Raleigh, 1989-96 and chaired the Commission, 1995-96. Formerly a public library director who received and ran a grant program of the North Carolina Humanities Committee, part of the National Endowment for Humanities, called the "Biography of the Month" program in Pender County. An active member of Public Service Committee, Wake County Bar Association, since 1995.
AWARDS:
Awarded President's Award of Excellence, Wake County Bar Association, 2006, 2005 and 1995. Presidential Award and Medal, President of the Republic of Korea, 1992. Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Youth of Our City, City of Raleigh, 1998, 2001, 2005 and 2010. Listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World.
FAMILY:
Married to Angeline M. Suhr for fifty years, former video/film librarian for the State of North Carolina. One child, Christopher Suhr, honors graduate of Duke Medical School, former U.S. Navy doctor and now a surgeon in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Attends St. Raphael's Catholic Church, Raleigh.
