Eric David Miller

Eric David Miller (born 1975) is an American attorney and jurist who serves as a United States circuit judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2019, Judge Miller has been active on the federal appellate bench since receiving his commission on March 4, 2019. His career includes extensive experience in both government service and private practice, as well as academic involvement as a part‑time lecturer.

Early life and legal career

Eric D. Miller was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1975 and spent his formative years in Marin County, California. He pursued an undergraduate education in physics at Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1996. Following his interest in law, he attended the University of Chicago Law School, where he distinguished himself as a topics and comments editor of the university’s law review. Miller earned his Juris Doctor with highest honors in 1999, graduating as a member of the Order of the Coif.

After completing his legal studies, Miller served two prestigious clerkships that laid the foundation for his later work in appellate litigation. From 1999 to 2000 he clerked for Judge Laurence Silberman on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He then spent a year (2000‑2001) clerking for Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court.

Miller entered public service with the Department of Justice, holding several positions within its civil and national security divisions. Between 2001 and 2003 he worked on the Appellate Staff in the Civil Division, returned to that role from 2004 to 2006 after a brief interlude, and served as an Attorney‑Advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel from 2003 to 2004. His work at the Department of Justice included a five‑year tenure (2007‑2012) as an Assistant to the Solicitor General in the Office of the Solicitor General, where he contributed to the government’s appellate advocacy before the Supreme Court and other federal courts. In recognition of his contributions to national security litigation, Miller received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award in 2008.

From 2006 to 2007 Miller held the position of Deputy General Counsel at the Federal Communications Commission, providing legal guidance on communications policy and regulatory matters. After leaving government service, he joined the Seattle office of Perkins Coie, a major law firm, where he became a partner in 2012. At Perkins Coie, Miller chaired the firm‑wide appellate practice, overseeing complex appeals across a range of federal jurisdictions. Over the course of his career as an advocate, he argued more than sixty appeals, including sixteen before the United States Supreme Court.

In addition to his practice and government work, Miller has maintained an academic presence as a part‑time lecturer at the University of Washington School of Law, where he teaches courses related to appellate advocacy and constitutional law. His professional affiliations have included membership in the Federalist Society during three periods: 1996‑1999, 2000‑2004, and again from 2016‑2017.

Federal appellate service

President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate Miller to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on July 13, 2018. The nomination was formally transmitted to the Senate on July 19, 2018 to fill the vacancy created when Judge Richard C. Tallman assumed senior status on March 3, 2018. A hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee took place on October 24, 2018 while the Senate was in recess; only two Republican senators attended, and no Democratic members were present.

Miller’s nomination was returned to the President under Senate Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6, at the close of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019. The President renominated him on January 23, 2019, and the nomination was again sent to the Senate that same day. On February 7, 2019, the Judiciary Committee reported Miller’s nomination out of committee by a vote of twelve to ten. The full Senate invoked cloture on his nomination on February 25, 2019 with a 51‑46 vote, and confirmed him the following day by a margin of 53‑46. He received his judicial commission on March 4, 2019.

Miller’s confirmation was notable for the opposition expressed by both Washington state senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, who withheld their blue slips—a traditional Senate courtesy indicating senatorial consent—for his nomination. Despite this objection, Miller became the first federal judicial nominee confirmed without the return of blue slips from a home‑state senator.

Since joining the Ninth Circuit, Judge Miller has participated in a variety of panels addressing immigration, asylum, civil rights, and reproductive health issues. On April 7, 2020 he joined an opinion authored by Judge Milan Smith that held aliens detained for six months or longer are entitled to bond hearings. In August 2020, Miller authored an opinion, joined by Judges Susan P. Graber and Andrew D. Hurwitz, which concluded that an asylum seeker could not be required to “relocate” within her home country if doing so would force her into hiding; the panel also recognized women resisting forced marriage proposals in Cameroon as a socially distinct group potentially eligible for asylum protection.

On January 15, 2021, Miller joined an opinion written by Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw that permitted a plaintiff to pursue a Section 1983 claim based on a Miranda rights violation. The Supreme Court later reversed this Ninth Circuit decision in *Vega v. Tekoh* (June 23, 2022), with Justice Samuel Alito authoring the majority opinion and Justice Elena Kagan dissenting; the dissent cited Miller’s earlier concurrence emphasizing the enforceability of Miranda rights.

More recently, on November 13, 2023, Judge Miller voted against a temporary injunction that sought to block Idaho’s abortion ban, which lacked exceptions for medical emergencies. The panel denied the request by a 7‑4 vote, and the Supreme Court subsequently agreed to hear the case, dissolving the Ninth Circuit’s injunction on January 5, 2024.

Jurisprudence and legacy

Judge Miller’s jurisprudential contributions reflect his extensive background in appellate advocacy and government service. His opinions often engage closely with statutory interpretation, constitutional protections, and procedural rights, particularly in contexts involving immigration, criminal procedure, and civil liberties. The bond‑hearing opinion of April 2020 underscores a commitment to ensuring due process for non‑citizens detained for extended periods, aligning with broader Ninth Circuit precedent on the rights of alien detainees.

In the asylum realm, Miller’s August 2020 decision highlighted an analytical approach that considers both factual conditions in the applicant’s country of origin and the social dynamics affecting particular groups. By recognizing women resisting forced marriage as a distinct protected class, the opinion contributed to evolving jurisprudence on gender‑based persecution claims.

Miller’s participation in the *Vega v. Tekoh* panel illustrates his willingness to engage with complex questions regarding the enforceability of Miranda rights under civil‑rights statutes. Although the Supreme Court ultimately reversed the Ninth Circuit’s stance, Miller’s concurrence was referenced by Justice Kagan as an articulation of the principle that Miranda protections generate individually enforceable legal rights.

His vote on the Idaho abortion ban case demonstrates a judicial approach attentive to procedural standards for injunctions and deference to state legislative authority pending higher‑court review. The subsequent Supreme Court action in the same matter reflects the ongoing national dialogue over reproductive health regulations, situating Miller’s decision within a broader appellate context.

Beyond specific rulings, Judge Miller’s career trajectory—from clerkships at the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court, through senior roles in the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission, to partnership leadership in private practice—has equipped him with a multifaceted perspective on federal law. His academic role as a lecturer further indicates an ongoing engagement with legal education and mentorship.

While still early in his tenure on the Ninth Circuit, Miller’s body of work contributes to the development of precedent across a jurisdiction that encompasses a diverse set of states and legal issues. His decisions continue to be cited by fellow judges, scholars, and practitioners, shaping interpretations of immigration policy, civil‑rights enforcement, and procedural safeguards. As an active member of the federal judiciary, Judge Miller’s influence will likely expand as he participates in additional panels and author further opinions that address the evolving challenges before the Ninth Circuit.