Eric D. Miller

Eric David Miller (born 1975) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Early life and education

Miller was born in Oak Park, Illinois and grew up in Marin County, California. He studied physics at Harvard University, graduating in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude. He then attended the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as a topics and comments editor of the University of Chicago Law Review and graduated in 1999 with a Juris Doctor with highest honors and Order of the Coif membership.

Early in his career, Miller served in the United States Department of Justice as an Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel (2003–2004) and as a member of the Appellate Staff in the Civil Division (2001–2003, 2004–2006).

Miller is also a part-time lecturer at the University of Washington School of Law. He has argued more than 60 appeals, including 16 before the Supreme Court of the United States. On October 24, 2018, while the Senate was not in session, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee with only two Republican Senators present, not the Chair, and no Democrats.

On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Miller for a federal judgeship. His nomination was sent to the Senate later that day. On February 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On February 25, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 51–46 vote, and on the following day, voted to confirm him by a 53–46 vote. He received his judicial commission on March 4, 2019.

His appointment was noteworthy as his home state senators (Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, of Washington) did not support his nomination and refused to return their blue slips in order to show their objection to it. He was the first federal judicial nominee to be so confirmed.

On April 7, 2020, Miller joined an opinion written by Milan Smith ruling that aliens detained for six months or more must be granted bond hearings.

On August 14, 2020, Miller wrote an opinion joined by Susan P. Graber and Andrew D. Hurwitz holding that an asylum applicant does not have the ability to “relocate” within her home country if she would have to remain in hiding there. The panel also concluded that “women resistant to forced marriage proposals” are a socially distinct group in Cameroonian society and, accordingly, may be able to demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution based on that protected ground.

On January 15, 2021, Miller joined an opinion authored by Kim McLane Wardlaw holding that a plaintiff can sue a police officer under section 1983 based on a Miranda violation. The Supreme Court overturned that decision in Vega v. Tekoh with a 6-3 vote on June 23, 2022, with Justice Samuel Alito writing for the majority. Justice Elena Kagan dissented, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor, at one point quoting Miller’s concurrence in the Ninth Circuit’s denial of rehearing en banc, writing, “As one judge below put it: ‘Miranda indisputably creates individual legal rights that are judicially enforceable. (Any prosecutor who doubts this can try to introduce an un-Mirandized confession and then watch what happens.)’” On January 5, 2024, the Supreme Court said it would take up the case and dissolved the 9th circuit's temporary injunction.

Miller was a member of the Federalist Society from 1996 to 1999, 2000–2004 and 2016–2017.