John Elvis Miller (May 15, 1888 – January 30, 1981) was aUnited States representative andUnited States Senator fromArkansas and later was aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
Born on May 15, 1888, inAid,Stoddard County,Missouri, Miller attended the public schools, Southeast Missouri State Teachers College (nowSoutheast Missouri State University) andValparaiso University. He received aBachelor of Laws in 1912 from theUniversity of Kentucky College of Law and was admitted to the bar the same year. He entered private practice inSearcy,Arkansas from 1912 to 1919 and also engaged inbanking. He was a delegate to the Arkansas state constitutional convention in 1918. He was a prosecutor for the First Judicial Circuit of Arkansas from 1919 to 1922.[1][2]
Miller was elected as aDemocrat to theUnited States House of Representatives of the72nd United States Congress and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1931, to November 14, 1937, when he resigned to become aUnited States senator.
He was elected on October 18, 1937, as a Democrat to theUnited States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States SenatorJoseph Taylor Robinson for the term ending January 3, 1943, and served from November 15, 1937, until his resignation effective March 31, 1941, to assume a federal judicial post.[1]
Miller was nominated by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt on January 31, 1941, to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas vacated by JudgeHeartsill Ragon. He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on January 31, 1941, and received his commission on March 12, 1941. He served as Chief Judge from 1958 to 1967 and as a member of theJudicial Conference of the United States from 1962 to 1963. He assumedsenior status on February 28, 1967. His service terminated on January 30, 1981, due to his death inLittle Rock, Arkansas.[2] At the time of his death, he resided inFort Smith,Sebastian County, Arkansas.[1] He was interred in Forest Park Cemetery.[1]
Miller was one of the district judges in theLittle Rock Nine case.[3][4]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromArkansas's 2nd congressional district 1931–1937 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Arkansas 1937–1941 Served alongside:Hattie Wyatt Caraway | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas 1941–1967 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas 1958–1967 | Succeeded by |
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