In 1997 Alex J. Smalls was appointed Chief Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, the first African American in Delaware to become a Chief Judge of a State Court. Early in his career Chief Judge Smalls worked in the New Castle Law Department, the Wilmington City Solicitor Office and the Attorney General’s Office. In 1985 he returned to the City of Wilmington as the Commissioner of Licenses and Inspection followed by an appointment to the position of Director of Public Safety for the City of Wilmington. After serving in this role for six years, he was appointed Associate Judge of the Municipal Court for the City of Wilmington in 1991. From there he moved into his present position of Chief Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He has served on the Governor’s Justice Reinvestment Task Force, the Delaware Racial Justice Improvement Project Task Force, and presently serves on the Delaware Criminal Justice Council. Previously, Chief Judge Smalls served as Chairman of Community Legal Society, on the Board of Directors of the Layton Home, on the Board of Trustees for both St. Edmond’s Academy for Boys and Ezion-Mount Carmel United Methodist Church.