Guest Post: From refugee to jurist -- the story of Judge Alfred J. Paul

I heard about this story at yesterday's Appellate Lawyers Association meeting. With the permission of the author and the permission of Justice Eileen O’Neill Burke, president of the Illinois Judges Association, I herewith reprint this piece from The Gavel, the IJA newsletter in which this article first appeared.

by Justice Mathias W. Delort

Today’s news reports are full of stories about refugees fleeing their homelands in search of a better life. From our perspective as American judges, these stories might seem remote and perhaps even irrelevant. The life story of one of our judicial colleagues, however, not only illuminates the tremendous potential these persons have to contribute to our society, but serves as an inspiration for all of us.

Cook County Associate Judge Alfred J. Paul, who recently retired after 36 years of distinguished service to the State of Illinois, was born in 1942 in Huszczka Duża, Poland, a tiny settlement about 100 miles from Lviv, Ukraine. At that time, World War II was raging, and Poland was under German control. When he was but two years old, Al and his older brother Kazimierz, and his mother were snatched at gunpoint by German soldiers and placed on a train to Germany to work as unpaid laborers on a farm. The farm was liberated by French troops in 1945, and the family lived in barracks in Germany from 1945 to 1950. The family could not return to their homeland, because Poland was under Russian occupation. During this time, Al learned not only his native Polish, but German, as well, although teaching in the refugee camp was sporadic at best. In 1948, President Truman signed the Displaced Persons Act, which allowed families such as the Pauls to immigrate to the United States if they could receive medical clearance and secure sponsorship from an American citizen. The Paul family’s sponsor was an army colonel from Texas.

The Paul family, now reunited with Al’s father, boarded a ship and emigrated to the United States under the new law. When the ship arrived in New Orleans in 1950, Al was wearing German lederhosen. The family traveled to Texas and discovered that the sponsoring colonel intended to exploit the family for free agricultural work on a chicken farm. They were housed in a snake-infested hovel, where temperatures routinely exceeded 100 degrees. They feared deportation if they did not accede to this arrangement.

After six months of this horrific experience, a Polish-American priest from the community came to the family’s rescue by helping them escape from the Texas farm under cover of darkness. The priest wrote a large tag for each family member to wear, stating that the wearer did not speak English and was headed to Chicago. A cousin living in Chicago, whom they had never met, obtained a taxi to meet them at the station. The cousin helped Al’s father secure housing in the Wicker Park neighborhood and a job in a local factory.

At age seven, Al began attending the local Catholic grade school, where the nuns helped him learn English for the first time. An excellent student, Al went on to graduate from Holy Trinity High School. He then became a student at DePaul University, where he participated in the ROTC program, became a naturalized citizen, and graduated with a degree in history. He then served in the army for almost three years during the Vietnam War era. Although his ROTC training qualified him as an officer, Al’s assignment was far from a cushy desk job. He was assigned to one of the most desolate military posts on earth -- Murphy Dome Air Force Station in northern Alaska -- where the temperatures dipped to glacial levels as low as -71° Fahrenheit. The base housed a radar facility manned by soldiers like Al. Their job was to sit in an underground bunker and constantly monitor radar screens for possible nuclear missiles from Russia routed over the polar regions. To qualify for this role, Al obtained top-secret cryptographic clearance. Murphy Dome soldiers took on other tasks in the area, as well, and Al was commended for his heroic efforts helping to save lives and property during the great Fairbanks, Alaska flood of 1967.

After being discharged with the rank of first lieutenant, Al began working at the federal courthouse in Chicago as a clerk for a bankruptcy referee. This piqued his interest in the law, and he began attending Chicago-Kent Law School at night. During law school, he married Mary McCue, and the couple has been together for over 50 years.

Al and Mary’s son, Danny, was born in 1979, and was quickly diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a condition which renders him a functional quadriplegic. For a long period during his childhood, Danny received extensive care at Children’s Memorial Hospital, and his parents kept close watch on him while they stayed at the nearby Ronald McDonald House. Like his father, Danny was an excellent student, a fact that is especially remarkable, given his inability to attend school in person. He received much of his education through lessons which teachers sent home for him to work on. He graduated from Lane Technical High School in Chicago and earned a bachelor’s degree in general studies, with distinction, online from Indiana University. Danny has continuously been on a ventilator since 1986, and he receives round-the-clock nursing care from a devoted group of home health aides and his tireless parents. He enjoys watching sporting events and working on his computer, which he operates by using his eyebrows to move a cursor to select letters and words. With this remarkable technology, he has met friends from around the world.

After a few years of working for a small law firm and handling personal injury litigation for the Chicago Transit Authority, Al was appointed as an associate judge of the circuit court of Cook County in 1986. During his time in the Law Division, he presided over countless jury cases, helping reduce the division’s then-legendary backlog. For the last 21 years, he has been the mainstay of the court’s county division, which handles a variety of unusual matters such as real estate valuation objections, tax deeds, mental health issues, and election disputes.

In recognition of his military service, Judge Alfred Paul retired from the circuit court at 11:11 am on Veterans Day (11/11), 2022. His judicial colleagues presented him an award engraved with these words: “To the best team player who never said no to anyone who needed help”. That’s quite an understatement.

The Illinois Judges Association extends its congratulations and gratitude to Judge Paul for an inspiring life of selfless service to country, community, and family.