Nominated by Ben Nelson Religion Judaism Preceded by D. Nick Caporale Name Lindsey Miller-Lerman | Nominated by Ben Nelson Role Justice Children 2 Political party Democratic Party | |
Full Name Lindsey Gale Miller-Lerman Born July 30, 1947 (age 76)
Los Angeles, California US ( 1947-07-30 ) Alma mater Wellesley College (B.A.)
Columbia University School of Law (J.D.) Education Wellesley College, Columbia Law School | ||
Lindsey Gale Miller-Lerman (born July 30, 1947) is a justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court, appointed by Governor Ben Nelson in 1998. She is the first woman on the court. Miller-Lerman was most recently retained in 2014 for a term that expires in 2020.
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Early life
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), and Roberta Miller (née Levey).
She received a B.A. with honors from Wellesley College in 1968, where she was a classmate of Hillary Clinton. She and Clinton were both political science majors.
After graduating from Wellesley, Miller-Lerman worked at a Cleveland legal aid clinic. She obtained a J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1973 and an Honorary Doctorate from the College of St. Mary in 1993.
Career
From 1973 to 1975, Miller-Lerman clerked for Judge Constance Baker Motley, a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. After this time, Miller-Lerman and her husband moved from New York to Nebraska.
Private practice
In 1976, Miller-Lerman joined the law firm of Kutak Rock & Huie, now Kutak Rock. 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. Miller-Lerman worked part-time as a partner at Kutak Rock while she raised her children. This part-time agreement did not penalize Miller-Lerman's chances for promotion, which Miller-Lerman credited to senior partner Bob Kutak's influence. 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.
Judgeship
In 1992, Miller-Lerman was appointed as a judge in the Nebraska Court of Appeals. 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.
In 1998, Miller-Lerman took office as a Nebraska Supreme Court Judge for District 2, replacing retiring Judge D. Nick Caporale. She was retained in office in 2002 and 2008.
Notable cases
Other
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. Senator J. James Exon was one of her supporters. Janet Reno was eventually selected for the position.
Publication
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.
Personal life
In 1961, Miller-Lerman was a member of the United States Maccabiah Games swimming team in Israel, where she won two gold and one silver medals.
In 1969, Miller-Lerman married Dr. Stephen Lerman. They had 2 children. The marriage ended in divorce.