Joseph A. Mallery was born near Winlock, Washington, on April 27, 1896. Before attending college he worked as a teacher, principal, and janitor for Scantygrease Grade School. He attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, for one year and completed his degree at the University of Washington. He received his LL.B. from the law school in 1926. That fall he was elected and served as the prosecuting attorney for Cowlitz county until 1928. In 1928 Mallery became an assistant U.S. district attorney in Tacoma. He worked as an assistant attorney until 1934 when he became a justice of the peace. Shortly thereafter he also served as a police judge in Tacoma. In 1940 he was elected Superior Court judge in Pierce County. Two years later he became a candidate for the state Supreme Court. He won election and served on the bench until 1962. He died twenty years later, March 2, 1982.
For a more in-depth biographical sketch, see: Charles H. Sheldon. The Washington High Bench: A Biographical History of the State Supreme Court, 1889-1991. Pullman: Washington State University Press, 1992.
From the guide to the Joseph A. Mallery Papers, 1924-1960, (Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections)
