| Lindsey Miller-Lerman | |
| Office: | Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court |
| Appointer: | Ben Nelson |
| Term Start: | September 1, 1998 |
| Predecessor: | Nick Caporale[1] |
| Birth Name: | Lindsey Gale Miller |
| Birth Date: | 30 July 1947 |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Children: | 2 |
| Education: | Wellesley College (BA) Columbia University (JD) |
Lindsey Gale Miller-Lerman (born July 30, 1947)[2] is a justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court, appointed by Governor Ben Nelson in 1998.[3] She is the first woman to serve on the court.[4] Miller-Lerman was retained in 2014 and 2020; her term expires in 2026.[5] [6]
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),[7] [8] and Roberta Miller (née Levey).[9]
She received a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Wellesley College in 1968,[10] where she was a classmate of Hillary Clinton.[11] She and Clinton were both political science majors.
After graduating from Wellesley, Miller-Lerman worked at a Cleveland legal aid clinic. She obtained a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 1973 and an Honorary Doctorate from the College of St. Mary in 1993.
From 1973 to 1975, Miller-Lerman clerked for Judge Constance Baker Motley, a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York.[12] After this time, Miller-Lerman and her husband moved from New York to Nebraska.
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.[13] Miller-Lerman worked part-time as a partner at Kutak Rock while she raised her children.[14] This part-time agreement did not penalize Miller-Lerman's chances for promotion,[15] 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.
In 1992, Miller-Lerman was appointed as a judge in the Nebraska Court of Appeals.[16] 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.[17] She was retained in office in 2002 and 2008.
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.[19] Senator J. James Exon was one of her supporters.[20] Janet Reno was eventually selected for the position.
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.
Miller-Lerman was a member of the United States 1961 Maccabiah Games swimming team in Israel, where she won two gold medals and one silver medal.
In 1969, Miller-Lerman married Dr. Stephen Lerman. They had 2 children. The marriage ended in divorce.