Marybeth Yuen Maul (March 26, 1925 – April 23, 2010) was the first

Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

female

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. She also served as a Molokai District Court judge for the County of Maui. Maul died on April 23, 2010, in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, at 85 years old.

Personal life

Maul was born in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

on March 26, 1925, to Yun Kee Yuen and Lin Tai (Chock) Yuen. She had three siblings: Lilyan, Jane, and John ("Sonny"). Her father, Yun Kee Yuen worked for the Libby pineapple company as an office clerk and bookkeeper. Maul's family often spent summers in Moloka'i. Maul's parents sent her and her siblings to stay with David Beckwith, the cousin of a family friend, in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in order to protect them. Marybeth would later return to Moloka'i to practice law and to help her father in the 1950s. Maul and her family started the first Chinese restaurant on Moloka'i called Hop Inn in 1963. She also cofounded the Molokai Humane Society, volunteered with the Girl Scouts, and served on the State Advisory Committee to the Department of Education on Title IV. Maul raised her two daughters, Robin Campbell and Christy Rice, on Moloka'i. As of 2010, she had four grandchildren.

Education

Maul first attended

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...

as one of the few Asian students present. However, due to

and the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, Punahou's school campus was commandeered by the

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

and the students were transferred to the University of Hawaii High School. Maul's parents decided to send Marybeth, her brother, and one of her sisters to Wisconsin with a family friend's cousin in an attempt to keep them safe during the war. In 1943, Marybeth graduated from the

University of Wisconsin High School The University of Wisconsin High School was a public high school in Madison, Wisconsin, originally encompassing 7-12th grades. It opened September 1914 in a building erected for that purpose. The school was created and maintained by the University ...

. She went on to attend the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

where she graduated in 1947 with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. Maul attended

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...

but later transferred and finished her law degree at the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1950. Maul took the examination twice for the

Hawaii State Bar Association The Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA) is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S ...

. She failed by .02 points in 1950 but passed in 1952.

Career

Maul was a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for two years in Chicago from 1950 to 1952. In 1952, Maul started working in the Honolulu city attorney's office. She was one of the only practicing attorneys on the island for several years. Maul's clients were often plantation workers for the pineapple companies and she usually assisted them

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

or at a lowered rate. In 1957, Judge Stanley Ashford recommended Maul to serve as

for the island of Moloka'i. She would serve as magistrate from 1957 to 1971. From 1985 to 1992, Maul worked at the Department of Health settlement for former Hansen's disease patients at Kalaupapa as an administrator. Maul retired in 1992.

Awards

Maul was awarded the Keeper of the Flame Award in 1988 by the Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center for leadership and commitment to people of Hawaii.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maul, Marybeth Yuen 1925 births 2010 deaths Women judges Lawyers from Honolulu American people of Chinese descent University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Punahou School alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni