The Albert J. Engel papers consist of case files, miscellaneous administrative files, and subject files relating to his judicial and other professional responsibilities as a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan (1971-1974) and as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (1974-2002). Case files for each court make up the bulk of the collection. The files represent a selection based largely upon the importance of the issue or issues represented within the case, the significance of the case in the judgment of Judge Engel, and whether Judge Engel wrote the opinion, dissent, or concurrence. Important to understanding the cases are individual memoranda written by Judge Engel (and included in box 15) of his assessment of the cases that he heard.
In 2006, the library received Judge Engel's memoirs of his life and career together with photocopies of the letters that he wrote home during the Second World War, 1944-1945.
Judge Albert J. Engel was born in Lake City, Michigan, on March 21, 1924, the son of the late Congressman and Mrs. Albert J. Engel.
He was educated in the public schools, Lake City and Washington, D.C. At the conclusion of his sophomore year at the University of Michigan, he entered the United States Army as a private in January, 1943. He left the service in April, 1946 as a captain and commanding officer of a bomb disposal unit. He served in this capacity in Europe with the Ninth Air Force for two years and saw duty in England, France, Belgium and Germany, earning five battle stars. Returning to the University of Michigan, he received an A.B. in 1948 and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1950.
Judge Engel was admitted to practice in 1950. After one year as administrative assistant to Representative Ruth Thompson, he returned to Michigan and entered into the private practice of law in the firm of Engel and Engel in Muskegon, Michigan. In 1966 he was elected Judge of the 14th Judicial Circuit of Michigan, taking office January 1, 1967. In 1970, he was appointed United States District Judge for the Western District of Michigan, taking office in January, 1971. He was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in December, 1973, and was sworn in on January 4, 1974, succeeding the late W. Wallace Kent. Judge Engel retired from this position early in 2002.
Engel was a member of the American Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan, Muskegon County Bar Association, Grand Rapids Bar Association, Cincinnati Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, Chapters in Washington, D.C., Detroit and Grand Rapids, and the American Judicature Society. He was also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Judge Engel passed away April 5, 2013.
