Portrait of Conrad Mallett, Jr. Joins Predecessors in Hall of Justice

Former Chief Justice Conrad Mallett, Jr., now head of Detroit's Sinai Grace hospital, returned to Lansing on Wednesday for the presentation of his official portrait by the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society. Former Governor James Blanchard, who appointed Mallett to the Court in December 1990 to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Dennis Archer, spoke at the ceremony. Mallett was subsequently re-elected to a two-year term and eight-year term, and In 1997 became the Court's first black chief justice. The portrait was painted by Simmie Knox, whose other notable portraits include Thurgood Marshall, Bill Clinton, and Muhammad Ali.