John Donnell Miller (December 2, 1840 – March 18, 1898) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

who served as a justice of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana Statehouse. In Dec ...

from February 25, 1891 to January 2, 1893.Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,
Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices
, ''

Indiana Law Review Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is the law school of Indiana University Indianapolis, a public research university in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school has been based in Lawrence W. Inlow Hall in Indianapolis ...

'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced i
Indiana Courts Justice Biographies page

Biography

John Miller was born in Clarksburg,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

to George Miller (originally from

Western Virginia Western Virginia is a geographic region in Virginia comprising the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia. Generally, areas in Virginia located west of, or (in many cases) within, the piedmont region are considered part of western Virginia. T ...

) and Margaret Jane Miller (née Donnell, born near

Kingston, Indiana Kingston is an unincorporated community in Decatur County, Indiana, in the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal ...

). In 1859, Miller began attending

Hanover College Hanover College is a private college in Hanover, Indiana, United States, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Founded in 1827 by Reverend John Finley Crowe, it is Indiana's oldest private college. The Hanover athletic teams participat ...

, but left school in 1861 to enlist following the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. Part of Company G of the

7th Indiana Infantry Regiment The 7th Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment from the State of Indiana that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 7th Indiana Volunteer Infantry was organized at Indianapolis, Indiana, betwee ...

, which was sent to fight in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. Miller reportedly served in twenty battles as a

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(including many famous battles such as the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgin ...

, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General (C ...

, and Gettysburg) and (from 1862 to 1864) as a clerk to an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

. After the end of the war, Miller studied law at the firm of Overstreet & Hunter in

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. He was admitted to the bar in 1866 and moved to Greensburg. From 1868 to 1873, he ran a private law practice in Greensburg in partnership with

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Frank E. Gavin. Miller served as Greensburg's City Clerk from 1866 to 1867 and City Attorney in 1871. In 1872, Miller was elected to represent Decatur and Rush counties in the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

. Miller was a Republican. After the death of Indiana Supreme Court Justice

John Berkshire John Griffith Berkshire (1832 – February 19, 1891) was a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from January 17, 1889, to February 19, 1891. Born in Ohio County, Indiana, during early life Berkshire learned the trade and worked at blacksmithing wi ...

in 1891,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Alvin Peterson Hovey Alvin Peterson Hovey (September 6, 1821 – November 23, 1891) was a Union general during the American Civil War, an Indiana Supreme Court justice, congressman, and the 21st governor of Indiana from 1889 to 1891. During the war he played an im ...

appointed Miller to fill his now vacant seat on the bench. Miller wrote 136 opinions during his time on the bench, writing on a variety of cases; land disputes,

debt collection Debt collection or cash collection is the process of pursuing payments of money or other agreed-upon value owed to a creditor. The debtors may be individuals or businesses. An organization that specializes in debt collection is known as a coll ...

employer liability Vicarious liability is a form of a strict, secondary liability that arises under the common law doctrine of agency, ''respondeat superior'', the responsibility of the superior for the acts of their subordinate or, in a broader sense, the resp ...

, and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

under the law (for example, Miller wrote the court's opinion on cases involving

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settlement (law), settled on the bride (being given into trust instrument, trust) by agreement at the time of t ...

portions and

coverture Coverture was a legal doctrine in English common law under which a married woman's legal existence was considered to be merged with that of her husband. Upon marriage, she had no independent legal existence of her own, in keeping with society's ...

). Miller sought re-election to the court in 1892, but was defeated and succeeded by Justice

Leonard Hackney Leonard J. Hackney (March 29, 1855 – October 3, 1938) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from January 2, 1893 to January 2, 1899.Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Klei ...

. Miller returned to Greensburg to practice law. Miller married Mary Jane Stevens in Greensburg in 1869. Mary died in 1891. They had three children together, all daughters. In 1894, he would be elected judge of Indiana's 8th

Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

, a position he would hold until he died in 1898.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, John Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court 1840 births 1898 deaths People from Decatur County, Indiana U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law American judges Indiana Republicans Union army officers