Justice Samuel Freeman Miller
Today’s Justice of the Day is: SAMUEL FREEMAN MILLER. Justice Miller was born on this day, April 5, in 1816.
Justice Miller was born in Richmond, Kentucky, the state where he would reside during his childhood and adolescence. He graduated from Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky with an M.D. in 1838.
In 1847, Justice Miller began his career in private practice with a three year-long stint in Barbourville, Kentucky, before continuing in Keokuk, Iowa, the state from which would be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States. He left Kentucky in part due to his personal opposition to slavery, and would gain prominence in his adopted home state of Iowa by playing a key role in the founding of its chapter of the Republican Party (he was rewarded for his service with the staunch support of the entire Iowa Republican delegation, which ultimately persuaded President Abraham Lincoln to pick him for an eventual SCUS vacancy). Justice Miller’s career in private practice in Keokuk would last until his appointment to the SCUS.
Justice Miller was nominated by President Lincoln on July 16, 1862, to a seat vacated by Justice Peter Vivian Daniel. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 16, and received his commission that day. Justice Miller took the Judicial Oath to officially join the SCUS on July 21, and served on the Taney, Chase, Waite, and Fuller Courts. His service was terminated on October 13, 1890, due to his death.
Justice Miller is not especially well-remembered today, like most of his brethren from the 19th century. Regrettably, his opposition to slavery did not preclude him from endorsing some racially-biased views, as seen in his decision to join the odious opinion of the Court in The Civil Rights Cases (1883), a ruling which would make it all but impossible for the federal government to significantly restrain racial discrimination for nearly three-quarters of a century.