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, 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.
Early life and education
Leon Parker Miller was born on April 27, 1899, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He had three sisters: Georgia, Eunice, and Grace. Miller was raised in Roanoke, Virginia, where he attended school. The first job Miller held as a child was of a shoeshiner. He began attending college at the age of 14, and paid his tuition by working as a waiter and bellhop. Miller attended North Carolina A&T State College in Greensboro, North Carolina. While attending North Carolina A&T, Miller was a member of the college's Mechanic Arts Society, and he delivered an oration at the society's anniversary exercises in May 1918. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he received a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1922.
Early law and political careers
Miller commenced his career in law in 1922 in Williamson, West Virginia, where he remained for two years. In 1924, he relocated to Welch, West Virginia. Miller became a law partner of former West Virginia House of Delegates member Harry J. Capehart and Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, Arthur G. Froe, and they had a successful law practice together known as Froe, Capehart, and Miller. Following the death of Froe in 1932, he and Capehart continued their practice under the name of Capehart and Miller. From 1928 to 1936, Miller served as an assistant prosecuting attorney for McDowell County. He had been appointed to the position following a recommendation from county prosecuting attorney, Wilson Anderson. According to the Charleston Daily Mail in 1932, Miller was believed to be the only African-American assistant prosecuting attorney in the state. He resigned from the position effective June 1, 1936, to return to private practice, and he was succeeded by African-American attorney Joseph G. Travis. In 1934, Miller campaigned for the Republican nomination for a seat on the McDowell County board of education, and in August of that year, he was elected as the Republican candidate for the board. In October 1934, Miller was named chairman of the McDowell County Colored Republican Organization advisory committee. He also served as a member of the Welch city council from 1944 to 1948.
Miller was a contributor to various periodicals to include The Crisis and Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life. In his 1935 article, "The Negro and the 'Closed Shop'", Miller wrote about African-American strikebreakers and the descrimination against African-American workers by organized labor. In his 1936 article, "A Greater N.A.A.C.P.", Miller discussed the need for the NAACP to play an expanded, centralized role in organizing and improving the lives of African-Americans. In March 1941, Miller was a guest speaker on the CBS national radio program, Wings Over Jordan, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the North Carolina A&T State College.