Bio
About Sheila Miller
Judge, Prosecutor, Teacher, Mother
The Hon. Sheila Miller, formerly Sheila Ann Patrick, attended Presentation/Our Lady of Victory Elementary School and Immaculata High School, both in Detroit. After graduating in 1980, she attended Michigan State University in East Lansing, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science/Public Administration in 1984.
In 1986, Judge Miller began working for the Michigan Legislature. For six years, she served as Legislative Assistant and Administrative Assistant. In her second year with the Legislature, Judge Miller enrolled at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing. While working full-time, she attended evening courses year-round enabling her to obtain a Juris Doctor in September of 1990, after just three years. She was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in May of 1991, making 2010 her 19th year of practice.
Judge Miller began working as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Macomb County in February of 1992. During her 14 years as an Assistant Prosecutor, she handled a variety of misdemeanor and felony cases. Special assignments included the Juvenile Court Unit (involving both delinquency cases and abuse and neglect proceedings) and the Domestic Violence Unit (including Child Abuse Felony Murder trials). In addition, Judge Miller worked in the Criminal Sexual Conduct Unit advocating on behalf of child victims, and the Family Court Unit handling felonies involving parties to abuse and neglect, divorce and stalking cases. While working as an assistant prosecutor, Judge Miller was a member of U.A.W. Local 412. Judge Miller also was a Senior Instructor teaching Trial Workshop courses at the Cooley Law School satellite on the campus of Oakland University.
Judge Sheila Miller knows what it is like to work full-time and raise a family.
As a mother, Judge Sheila Miller is working to make sure her son has a good education. Judge Miller teaches him the values that her parents taught her and that still guide her today: a commitment to hard work and a dedication to fairness.
As a Clinton Township homeowner and parent, Judge Sheila Miller understands our community. She serves on the Boards of the Resolution Center, Care House, Habitat of Humanity, and is a member of the Clinton Township Area Optimist Club.
Judge Sheila Miller knows what it is like to work full-time and raise a family.As a mother, Judge Sheila Miller is working to make sure her son has a good education. Judge Miller teaches him the values that her parents taught her and that still guide her today: a commitment to hard work and a dedication to fairness.As a Clinton Township homeowner and parent, Judge Sheila Miller understands our community. She serves on the Boards of the Resolution Center, Care House, Habitat of Humanity, and is a member of the Clinton Township Area Optimist Club.
In May of 2006, Judge Miller was appointed by Governor Jennifer Granholm to her current position as 41-B District Court Judge for Cinton Township, Mount Clemens and Harrison Township, Michigan. That appointment was later confirmed by voters in a contested November 2008 election.
Handling both criminal and civil cases, as well as her jurisdiction’s first Pilot Substance Abuse Recovery Court program, Judge Miller is the first African-American judge ever to preside on any Macomb County bench.
Affiliations
Member, Macomb County Bar Association
Member, Macomb County District Judges Association
Member, Wolverine Bar Association
Member, Michigan District Judges Association
Member, Association of Black Judges of Michigan
Awards & Honors
Macomb Chamber of Commerce Athena Award Nominee, 2009
Straker Bar Association Trailblazer Award Recipient, 2008
Comcast Pioneer Award Recipient, 2007
Macomb County NAACP Pioneer Award Recipient, 2006
Vista Maria Women of Achievement Award Recipient, 2009
Community Connections
Cooley Alumni Success Story: http://www.cooley.edu/alumni/success/millers.html