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Otis M. SmithMary S. ColemanDorothy Comstock RileyConrad L. Mallett, Jr.Dennis W. Archer. Otis M. Smith. First African American Michigan Supreme Court JusticeBorn in Memphis, Tennessee, 1922EducationFisk UniversitySyracuse UniversityJ.D. from Catholic University Law School in Washington D.C..
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1. Minority Justices
2. Otis M. Smith
Mary S. Coleman
Dorothy Comstock Riley
Conrad L. Mallett, Jr.
Dennis W. Archer
3. Otis M. Smith First African American Michigan Supreme Court Justice
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1922
Education
Fisk University
Syracuse University
J.D. from Catholic University Law School in Washington D.C.
4. Appointed to the Bench in 1961 and served through 1967
Adversity: Served at a time of unrest, when civil rights issues were being hotly debated across the nation. Because of his light skin, he was both accepted and discriminated against by Whites and African Americans
Involvement/Personality
Civil and Courteous
Active with NAACP and Big Brothers Otis M. Smith
5. Mary S. Coleman First woman to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court
Born in Forney, Texas, 1914
Education
University of Maryland
Law School – George Washington University
6. Served from 1973-1982 after election in 1972
Served as Chief Justice from 1979-1982
Credited with
Reorganizing the Michigan Court system
Establishing the 1963 Constitution’s call for “one court of justice” Mary S. Coleman
7. Dorothy Comstock Riley First woman appointed to the Michigan Court of Appeals
Adversity: Interviewed with law firms at a time when there were very few women lawyers. The first question she was often asked was how fast she could type. So, she practiced on her own for six years and made a name for herself that way.
Born in Detroit, 1924
Education
B.A. Wayne State University
Legal training at Wayne State University
8. Supreme Court service
Served on the Supreme Court from 1982-1983
Served again from 1985-1997
Retired when Parkinson’s Disease set in
Founder of the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society Dorothy Comstock Riley
9. Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. First African-American Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
Born in Detroit, 1953
Education
B.A. University of California – Los Angeles
J.D. University of Southern California
10. Served the Court from 1990 – 1998
Appointed in 1990
Re-election to two-year term in 1992
Re-election in 1994 to eight-year term
Resigned in 1998 to practice in the private sector Conrad L. Mallett, Jr.
11. Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. Career
Director of Legislative Affairs for Michigan Governor James J. Blanchard from 1983-1984
Director and Executive Assistant to Detroit Mayor Coleman Young from 1985-1986
Involvement
Numerous state and national legal organizations
NAACP member
12. Dennis W. Archer Born in Detroit, 1942
Education
Wayne State University – studied pharmacy
Western Michigan University – transferred there to become a History teacher but became a Special Education teacher
Worked on Law Degree at night at Detroit College of Law
13. Service to the Michigan Supreme Court
Appointed to the Court in 1985
Elected to an 8-year term in 1986
Resigned in 1990 to resume private practice
Became Mayor of Detroit Dennis W. Archer
14. Involvement
Numerous professional organizations
NAACP life-member
Michigan Cancer Foundation
Other Organizations Dennis W. Archer