Lindsey Miller-Lerman | |
---|---|
Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court, 2nd Judicial District | |
Assumed office September 1, 1998 | |
Nominated by | Ben Nelson |
Preceded by | D. Nick Caporale [1] |
Chief Judge of the Nebraska Court of Appeals | |
In office 1995–1998 | |
Nominated by | Ben Nelson |
Personal details | |
Born | Lindsey Gale Miller July 30, 1947 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater |
Wellesley College (
BA) Columbia University ( JD) |
Lindsey Gale Miller-Lerman (born July 30, 1947) [2] is a justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court, appointed by Governor Ben Nelson in 1998. [3] She is the first woman to serve on the court. [4] Miller-Lerman was retained in 2014 and 2020; her term expires in 2026. [5] [6]
Miller-Lerman was born in Los Angeles, California, to father Avy Miller, an engineer who founded Laars-Engineers (which is now called Laars Heating Systems), [7] [8] and Roberta Miller (née Levey). [9]
She received a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Wellesley College [7] in 1968, [10] where she was a classmate of Hillary Clinton. [11] She and Clinton were both political science majors. [11]
After graduating from Wellesley, Miller-Lerman worked at a Cleveland legal aid clinic. [10] She obtained a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 1973 and an Honorary Doctorate from the College of St. Mary in 1993. [1]
From 1973 to 1975, Miller-Lerman clerked for Judge Constance Baker Motley, a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. [12] [13] After this time, Miller-Lerman and her husband moved from New York to Nebraska. [10]
In 1976, Miller-Lerman joined the law firm of Kutak Rock & Huie, now Kutak Rock. [13] From 1976 to 1979, Miller-Lerman was an associate; from 1980 to 1992, she was a partner. She was at Kutak Rock until her appointment to the Nebraska Court of Appeals. [14] Miller-Lerman worked part-time as a partner at Kutak Rock while she raised her children. [15] This part-time agreement did not penalize Miller-Lerman's chances for promotion, [12] which Miller-Lerman credited to senior partner Bob Kutak's influence. [12] Her regular schedule was three days a week, but since Miller-Lerman specialized in litigation, her schedule was adjusted when she had cases that went to court. [12]
In 1992, Miller-Lerman was appointed as a judge in the Nebraska Court of Appeals. [16] She was the first woman in the state to serve on a court higher than the district court. After four years on the Nebraska Court of Appeals, Miller-Lerman became Chief Judge, a position she held from 1995 to 1998. [13]
In 1998, Miller-Lerman took office as a Nebraska Supreme Court Judge for District 2, replacing retiring Judge D. Nick Caporale. [1] [17] She was retained in office in 2002 and 2008. [1]
In 1993, Miller-Lerman's name was mentioned as being under consideration in the selection process for United States Attorney General during Bill Clinton's presidency. [19] Senator J. James Exon was one of her supporters. [20] Janet Reno was eventually selected for the position.
Miller-Lerman has been published in the following journals: Creighton Law Review; Litigation News & Notes; ABA Journal; The National Law Journal; Columbia Law Review; Wisconsin Law Review; Annals of Internal Medicine. [1]
Miller-Lerman was a member of the United States 1961 Maccabiah Games swimming team in Israel, where she won two gold medals and one silver medal. [7]
In 1969, Miller-Lerman married Dr. Stephen Lerman. [7] They had 2 children. The marriage ended in divorce. [10]