Thursday, February 21, 2008

Judge Gary Miller Files For Primary Race

In a press release today from local attorney Robert Rothkopf and campaign manager for Judge Gary L. Miller, an announcement comes that Judge Miller has decided to file for re-election as judge of the Marion Superior Court in the May Republican primary. The press release reads:



Judge Gary L. Miller, Judge of the Marion Superior Court, for more than 17 years, has filed his paperwork with the Indiana Secretary of State to run for re-election in the May primary election. Although endorsed by the Marion County GOP in 1990, 1996 and 2002, Judge Miller was not slated at the party convention on February 16.

Campaign Chair Bob Rothkopf said, "We have had many calls from lawyers and GOP party members, including precinct committeepersons and ward chairs, who have expressed surprise that an experienced and capable jurist of Judge Miller's caliber was not slated." Rothkopf added that Judge Miller, a candidate with proven experience and qualifications, will be appealing to Republican voters in the May primary to reconsider the judgment of a very small number of the party officials who stayed through the final vote at the slating convention. Judge Miller's judicial experience, temperament, and talents over the last 18 years have been rewarded with high marks in every poll conducted by the Indianapolis Bar Association and by his excellent reputation for impartiality and fairness throughout the legal community.

Judge Miller first received the endorsement of the GOP in 1990 prior to his first election. From January 1991 until December 2000 he was assigned to the Criminal Division where he presided over more than 400 major felony jury trials. He was reelected in 1996 after receiving the GOP endorsement, and again in 2002. He has served as Judge in the Marion Superior Court, Civil Division, Room 5 since January 2, 2001.

Judge Miller is a life long resident of Marion County and graduated from North Central High School in 1974. He was elected to the North Central Wall of Fame in 2004. Judge Miller received his A.B. degree from Indiana University in Bloomington in 1977, and his J.D. in 1980 from the Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis .

While in law school, Judge Miller worked first as a bailiff in the Municipal and Circuit Courts, and then as an intern in the Marion County Prosecutor's office. After graduating law school, he was hired as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney by Steve Goldsmith. He left in 1983 and began work with the law firm of Hollingsworth and Meek, and became a partner in 1987.

Since 1992, Judge Miller has also served as an adjunct Professor of Law at the Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis . He teaches Trial Practice and Professional Responsibility.

Judge Miller has lectured on criminal, civil law, and legal ethics issues to groups that include the Indiana Judicial Center, Indiana State Bar Association, the Indianapolis Bar Association, the American Probation and Parole Association, the Indiana Department of Education, and the Commercial Law League of America.

Judge Miller is active in the Indianapolis Bar Association and served as its President in 2003. He is a Fellow of the Indiana State Bar Association and the Indianapolis Bar Association. He has been on the Board of the Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis , Alumni Association since 1993, and completed a term as its President in 2000-2001.

Judge Miller was one of three incumbent judges the Republicans failed to re-slate at the party's county convention last weekend. The other two judges were Judge Kenneth Johnson and Judge John Hammel. No word on whether either Johnson or Hammel will run in the May primary. Judge Miller's decision comes as a big relief for many members of the local bar who feared voters would be without a choice in the May primary in the superior court race to nominate 8 judicial candidates, all of whom are ensured of winning the November election. Many attorneys were particularly appalled at the slating of Timothy Oakes, a lobbyist for the cable TV industry. Oakes was convicted of drunk driving causing the death of another person when he was 17. He was also fired by former Marion Co. Prosecutor Scott Newman after he suspected Oakes of tipping off his father that he was the target of a criminal investigation. Oakes was later cleared of criminal wrongdoing but not rehired by the prosecutor's office.


A survey taken by the Indianapolis Bar Association found that 85.5% of the responding members of the local bar recommended Judge Miller for service on the bench. By comparison, Oakes was recommended by only 60.3% of the respondents, the lowest approval percentage received by any of the Republican judicial candidates surveyed. You can view the biographies of different judical candidates by clicking here.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good for the Judge, David O, Caroline Mays, and all the rest who decide that they want to run and didn't listen to their party. It is time for the voters to stop being sheep and following what a small group of people decide should be in our best interest and the VOTERS deciding what type of representation and elected officials they want to change the direction of their city and state. This is EXACTLY how democracy is supposed to work.

Anonymous said...

I agree. There is nothing wrong with running against the "slate." Although slatings aren't as badly rigged as they were in the Sweezy-Keeler years, they still are terribly undemocratic and don't produce the best candidates.

Anonymous said...

Oh please, PLEASE 6:51, do NOT put Carolene Mays into the same category as the distinguished Rep. Orentlicher and Judge Miller.

It's not even close....

If she had her way, the legislature wuold be run by Concerned Clergy.

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Anonymous said...

Gary, does anyone else have internet explorer problems with your site? It knocks me off two or three times before allowing access. "Slating" needs to be explained, I think, for folks who haven't a clue how it works.

Anonymous said...

Let me see...he can't get elected by the members of his own party at a slating, but the voters are going to put him back into office. Perhaps he should read the writing on the wall.

Anonymous said...

6:51, I don't think you have to like Carolene or her positions (I don't) to agree that anyone who wants to run ought to put it out there on the primary, and bust up this ridiculous slating process whereby the non-slated are threatened that if the run and give voters and the public a choice, they will be persona non grata in the party.

Anonymous said...

From the sublime to the ridiculous...come on 7:45, even you can't beleive what you typed.

Anonymous said...

After four ballot rounds during the GOP slating Judge Miller did not make the cut. That speaks volumes about a man who chose a Hawaiian vacation over local debates. His minimal campaigning and literal "open collar" approach to the very process that elected him three times before tells a story about the impression he gave several hundred informed Republican voters.

So now that his inner-circle of friends is unhappy about the choice of Marion County’s GOP leadership, Mr. Miller and his good ol’ boys want a chance to schmooze the less informed general public. Sounds like a man who strolled about as an “untouchable” and suddenly realizes he is not as well thought of as he assumed….

Anonymous said...

Interesting. 8:20, I agree. From what I understand everyone who went to slating actually signed something that says if they lost they would not run. So he lost. Judge Miller should play by the rules he agreed to. He willingly went to slating. If he had won, I am sure he would be sure to let everyone know he was a slated candidate, and he would have used it to as much as he could have. Sounds like sour grapes and a bit of ego to me. Also 8:43, I agree with you as well. If you can't impress less than 1000 people, how are you going to impress a whole county?

Gary R. Welsh said...

The entire complaint that he went on vacation and didn't spend enough time wooing committeepersons points up the problem with this slating process. Shouldn't he be judged on his performance as a judge for the past 18 years as opposed to such trivial matters?

Anonymous said...

He must want the 'gravy train' retirement plan judges receive...the best in the state. He also championed the 'we need a raise because we are over worked and underpayed' cause of the poor judges. Take a walk the the CCB today or any weekday afternoon after 3pm. You won't see much going on in the court rooms. Miller needs to step aside and do something else. He's too tight with B. Boz, for one thing. He thought he was invincible, & etc. I'm not exactly thrilled with all three of the new judge candidates, but, they all worked hard, and, new blood is necessary sometimes. I'll back the slate, gladly, to put Miller in private practice. Also, the IBA survey is hardly the whole story. It's a voluntary survery. I threw mine away because it's a meaningless popularity poll.

Anonymous said...

He makes a good point in his press release. By the time the 4th (final) round of balloting came about, more than half of the precinct committeemen had left the convention, as it had already lasted hours longer than scheduled. People had other committments and had to leave.

Considering he got the most votes (but slightly less than a majority) on the 2nd & 3rd rounds of balloting when most PC's were still there, he's got a legit argument.

Anonymous said...

The people who vote at slating have no idea what a judge does or who is qualified. They cut deals, break deals, and vote for people not based on qualifications but on politics. Judge Miller is highly qualified and that has been proven over the last 18 years. I hope he runs and wins! We do not need people like Oakes who drive drunk, kill people, gets fired by the Prosecutor, etc. Is he qualified? No! The few that spoke on slating will clearly be outweighed by the voters of Marion County.

Anonymous said...

to 8:43: the "writing on the wall" is that he should run. Do the numbers!

Anonymous said...

To 9:00: You threw your Bar Association survey away - that shows lack of concern and responsibility. You look in the Courts and see nothing going on - you must not know much about the civil practice. The new blood that you speak about have no judicial experience and one is a convicted drunk driver. You seem very informed...

Anonymous said...

Correction anon. 9:02, Miller lost the 3rd round and obviously the 4th & final. Being a judge is not an entitlement, nor a cradle to grave job. Miller has plenty of career options. He needed to campaign, he chose not to. Ironically, it will be more difficult beating the slate than earning it. This has been good for the party. He understood the risks. Slating is a vastly improved process but far from perfect.

Anonymous said...

10:41 Amen!!!I wish Judge Miller the very best and hope he beats the socks off of those new wanna be judges.

Anonymous said...

10:54 Miller did campaign and I saw him at many meetings. Even though judges like Miller have many career options, he chose to be a judge and even accept a much lower salary in doing so. With a slate like this, he should run and I applaud him for standing up and doing so.

Anonymous said...

Primary voters can pick judges just as well as they can pick school board members...

Anonymous said...

Regarding the new judges having no experience, didn't Miller start out on the bench having never been a judge before? Don't all people begin a new job having never done it before? Both Oakes & Eisgruber have been practicing law for quite sometime, actually, that Eisgruber has spent a lot of time in the courtroom, according to his bio.

Anonymous said...

I was at the slating convention. I couldn't bring myself to vote for Tim Oakes. I like Tim, but that's a mighty big mistake (driving drunk and killing someone) to overlook.

However, even with Oakes youthful homicide, I still would rather have him than Marilyn Moores and Cynthia Ayres. Moores has a horrible temperment for a judge. I can't believe Daniels appointed her. I can't imagine anyone less suited to be a judge than Moores. And Ayres has proved herself to be an extremely poor judge. Attorneys who practice in front of her hold her in very low regard.

Anonymous said...

You cannot seriously put Eisgruber and Oakes the same category. Eisgruber dedicated a good portion of his career to serving the most innocent victims of crime. Oakes has spent his entire career trying to get elected to Judge.

Gary R. Welsh said...

I, for one, don't question Eisgruber's qualifications. He has an impressive resume.

Bren said...

RE: 8:38. I unfortunately, have the opportunity of seeing first hand how unsuitable Marilyn Moores is to sit on the Juvenile bench. She doesnt seem to have the ability to follow what is laid out for her. After hearing what her own probation officers tell her when they unamiously recommend waiver(after 2 meetings same result 3 months apart) and confession of my son and his fathers murderer, to waive to adult court. Now Im living with the loss of my son and the thought of the 15 year old murderer on the street in no time (with weapons they stole still missing). I am SHOCKED to be introduced in to the whole election process for the judges. I thought we made a difference in voting, but when 8 judges are slated for 8 spots, they are guaranteed their jobs! I felt so helpless that I wasnt there to help my son and keep him safe, but felt confident that our system would hold his murderers accountable. Then I met Marilyn Moores.