The UJS seal was originally designed in 1977 by Rick Martin (now Clerk of the US District Court in Baton Rouge, LA) and Ned Mitchell (deceased) at the request of Chief Justice Howell Heflin. Chief Justice Heflin wanted a seal for the Unified Judicial System which would distinguish it from the Seal of the Supreme Court and the individual district seals. It first appeared on UJS stationery in May 1977 and later in a manual of standardized court forms in August 1977. It was depicted in black and white.