Born: July 28, 1932
Lake Charles, Louisiana

Died: September 18, 2011
Lake Charles, Louisiana

Norma Holloway Johnson

Judge, U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Nominated by Jimmy Carter on February 28, 1980; Confirmed by the Senate on May 9, 1980, and received commission on May 12, 1980. Served as chief judge, 1997 – 2001. Assumed senior status on 6/18/2001. Service terminated on 12/31/2003, due to retirement.

Education:
District of Columbia Teachers College, B.S., 1955
Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1962

Portrait Ceremony
Transcript of Ceremony: December 11, 2003

Artist
Simmie Knox (1935-) – A native of Washington, D.C., Knox graduated from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia and has specialized in portraits since 1981. Knox exhibited as an abstract artist and worked for the Museum of African Art in Washington D.C. during the 1970s. His abstract art was displayed in the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1971. After years of painting abstract and other art forms, Knox turned full time to portraiture. His commissions feature entertainers, educators, military officers, judges, and private individuals and include Justice Thurgood Marshall in 1989, Senator Verda Welcome in 1990, Senator Herman Holloway in 1995, and Muhammad Ali in 1995. Perhaps Knox’s most notable commission was to paint the official portait of President Bill and First Lady Hillary Clinton, unveiled in 2004.

Today, Knox’s work is held in private collections, the U.S. Senate, the White House, and schools, museums, and courthouses across the country.

Professional Career:

Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1963
Trial attorney, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1963-1967
Assistant corporation counsel, Washington, D.C., 1967-1970
Judge, District of Columbia Superior Court, 1970-1980