Last week the Rose Scholars were visited by the Honorable Scott Miller, the presiding judge in the City of Ithaca. As soon as he began telling us a bit about his background, it was clear that this would be an entertaining and enjoyable discussion. He gave off a very confident yet inviting energy as he talked to us about his experiences as a criminal defense attorney for fifteen years and as a judge for five years.

Having a job as a criminal defense attorney is something that my family never wanted me to pursue. With a Latino background, criminal defense attorneys have always been referred to as incredulous people that are defending the bad guy, which makes it seem that it is morally wrong. However, I really appreciated hearing Judge Miller’s perspective on how he defended criminals, both guilty and non-guilty over a very long time. I think that the one thing every Rose Scholar appreciated last week was Judge Miller’s honesty. He explained how he was a poor attorney when he first began working out of a small office, and picking up cases as they came to him. He explained that at the end of the day he had a job to do, and that was to make sure that his client saw the same legal rights they were entitled to as the accuser. Granted, he admitted that defending someone guilty was difficult, as was seeing them walk free sometimes, but the cases that kept him up at night were the one’s where the person was convicted wrongly because of the jury’s decision.

I could only imagine having to defend someone that has all of the cards turned against them, as well as the disapproval of an entire community at times. Also, it comes as no surprise that Judge Miller mentioned that he has been bullied, threatened, and harmed simply because he is doing his job to the best of his abilities and to the regulations of the law. It was moving to hear him speak about how he has worked very hard during his long career to perform to the standards of the law and ensure that justice is served.

I hope to attend an open trial if it happens in the near future; I think it would be really interesting to see the Ithaca courthouse as a spectator. All in all, it was a wonderful experience having him speak with us, and it goes without saying that there is a strong reason why he was elected to be called the Honorable Judge Miller.