Conrad L. Mallett Jr.

Conrad L. Mallett Jr. (born October 12, 1953) is a Michigan jurist and businessman who currently serves as corporation counsel for the city of Detroit. Prior to being approved by Detroit City Council as corporation counsel, Mallett was deputy mayor of the city under Mayor Mike Duggan.[1] He previously was a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 1990 to 1999 and served as chief justice in 1997 and 1998.

Conrad L. Mallett Jr.
Mallett in 2022
Corporation Counsel of Detroit
Assumed office
April 26, 2022
MayorMike Duggan
Deputy Mayor of Detroit
In office
May 25, 2020 – April 26, 2022
MayorMike Duggan
Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
In office
1997–1998
Preceded byJames H. Brickley
Succeeded byElizabeth Weaver
Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
In office
1990–1999
Preceded byDennis Archer
Succeeded byRobert P. Young Jr.
Personal details
Born (1953-10-12) October 12, 1953

Career

Mallett served as a Justice on the Michigan Supreme Court from December 21, 1990, to January 2, 1999, acting as chief justice in 1997 and 1998.[2][3][4] Mallett was the first African American to serve as chief justice on the Michigan Supreme Court.

Mallett also sat on the Board of Directors of Lear Corporation,[4] For twenty years, Mallett was a top Detroit Medical Center (DMC) administrator.[5] served as president of DMC's Sinai-Grace Hospital from 2003 to 2011, and acted as interim CEO of DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in 2017.[6] He also previously served as a partner at the Detroit law firm Miller Canfield.[7]

Mallet was appointed deputy mayor of Detroit in May 2020. He assumed the office on May 25, 2020.[5] He was involved with leading the city's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] Mallett was named corporation counsel for the City of Detroit in 2022.[8] After he had been first nominated, members of the Detroit City Council expressed concerns about Mallett and his nomination was initially withdrawn. After a search produced no alternate candidate for the position, he was renominated. After several months of divided debate about his nomination, his appointment was confirmed on April 26, 2022.[8]

Suppression of police officer discipline records

Following Mallett's appointment as Detroit's corporation counsel, the city began redacting police officers' disciplinary records requested under the Freedom of Information Act. Previously, the city had disclosed officer discipline files in full. As corporation counsel, Mallett heads the city's law department, which processes FOIA requests.[9]

Ross Jones, an investigative reporter with WXYZ, reported that the city denies FOIA requests for officer discipline records by citing the Bullard-Plawecki Employee Right to Know Act, saying that the act prohibits the release of discipline records older than four years. However, attorneys questioned the city's policy, noting that the Right-to-Know Act itself states that it "shall not be construed to diminish a right of access to records" provided under FOIA.[9][10]

Mallett defended the city's policy in an interview with WXYZ. The policy was criticized by longtime Detroit police commissioner Willie Bell, activist Tristan Taylor, and multiple employment law attorneys. WXYZ has appealed the city's decision to redact records that its newsroom had requested.[10]

References
  1. "Deputy Mayor". City of Detroit. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  2. "Presentation of the Portrait of the Honorable Conrad L. Mallett Jr". Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  3. "Conrad L. Mallett Jr". www.micourthistory.org.
  4. "Conrad Mallett". Lear Corporation. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  5. "Detroit mayor taps former hospital president and Michigan Supreme Court chief justice Conrad Mallett to be deputy mayor". www.clickondetroit.com. WDIV. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  6. Greene, Jay (March 9, 2017). "Conrad Mallett Jr. named interim CEO of DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital". Crains.
  7. "Executive Profile: Conrad L. Mallett Jr". Bloomberg News. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  8. Afana, Dana (April 26, 2022). "Detroit City Council OKs Conrad Mallet as city's top attorney". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  9. "Michigan Legislature - Section 423.510". Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  10. Jones, Ross (2022-08-11). "Hiding police discipline: Detroit now redacts misconduct records it once fully disclosed". Detroit: WXYZ. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
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