Leon Parker Miller | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Miller, published in the St. Paul Recorder, 1954 | |
| Judge of the Criminal Court of McDowell County, West Virginia[a] | |
| In office 1968–1968 | |
| Preceded by | L. R. Morgan |
| Succeeded by | Harry G. Camper |
| In office 1968–1972 | |
| Preceded by | Harry G. Camper |
| Succeeded by | Rudolph J. Murensky |
| United States Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands | |
| In office 1954–1962 | |
| President | Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy |
| Preceded by | Cyril Michael |
| Succeeded by | Almeric L. Christian |
| Member of the City Council of Welch, West Virginia | |
| In office 1944–1948 | |
| Preceded by | William Gannaway |
| Succeeded by | Joseph G. Travis |
| Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for McDowell County, West Virginia | |
| In office 1928–1936 | |
| Succeeded by | Joseph G. Travis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 27, 1899 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | February 4, 1980 (aged 80) Welch, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Restlawn Memorial Gardens, Bluefield, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Mildred Elizabeth Foster Miller |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | North Carolina A&T State College University of Pennsylvania Law School (LL.B.) |
| Profession | Lawyer, politician, and judge |
Leon Parker Miller (April 27, 1899 – February 4, 1980) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Miller served as U.S. Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands from 1954 to 1962. He was appointed the first African-American judge in West Virginia in April 1968, and became the state's first elected African-American judge in November 1968.
Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1899, Miller was raised in Roanoke, Virginia. He attended North Carolina A&T State College, and in 1922, he graduated from University of Pennsylvania Law School with a Bachelor of Laws. Miller commenced his career in law in Williamson, West Virginia, in 1922, and in 1924, he relocated to Welch, West Virginia, and established a law firm with former West Virginia House of Delegates member Harry J. Capehart and Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, Arthur G. Froe. He served as assistant prosecuting attorney for McDowell County from 1928 to 1936, and as a member of the Welch city council from 1944 to 1948.
Miller was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as the United States Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands in 1954, and he was reappointed to the position in 1958. He served as U.S. attorney until 1962, and then returned to his law practice in Welch. In 1968, he was elected as a write-in candidate as judge of the criminal court,[a] becoming the first elected African-American judge in West Virginia, and the first Republican elected to major office in McDowell County since the 1930s. He retired from the bench in 1972 and continued the practice of law until his death in Welch in 1980.
- ^ Myers 1971, p. 380.
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