Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Lindsey Miller-Lerman
1998 - Present
2027
27
Lindsey Miller-Lerman is a judge for District 2 of the Nebraska Supreme Court. She assumed office on September 1, 1998. Her current term ends on January 7, 2027.
Gov. Ben Nelson (D) appointed Miller-Lerman to the court on August 5, 1998, following the retirement of Justice D. Nick Caporale.[1][2] She was retained by voters in 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020. To read more about judicial selection in Nebraska, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[3] Miller-Lerman received a confidence score of Mild Democrat.[4] Click here to read more about this study.
Before her appointment to the state supreme court, Miller-Lerman was a judge on the Nebraska Court of Appeals from 1992 to 1998, including three years as the court's chief judge.
Miller-Lerman was the first woman appointed to the Nebraska Supreme Court and the first appointed to the Nebraska Court of Appeals.[1]
Biography
Miller-Lerman was born on July 30, 1947, in Los Angeles, Calif.[5] She received a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College in 1968, a law degree from Columbia University in 1973, and an honorary doctorate from the College of St. Mary in 1993.[2] During her legal education at Columbia, Miller-Lerman worked as a law clerk with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.[2]
In 1976, Miller-Lerman joined the Omaha, Neb., law firm Kutak Rock & Huie as an associate attorney. She remained with the firm until 1992 when Gov. Ben Nelson (D) appointed her to the Nebraska Court of Appeals.[2] In 1995, Miller-Lerman was elevated to become the chief judge of the court, a position she held until Nelson appointed her to the Nebraska Supreme Court in 1998.[2]
Elections
Nebraska Supreme Court (1998-present)
Miller-Lerman was appointed to the Nebraska Supreme Court by Gov. Ben Nelson (D) on August 5, 1998, following the retirement of Justice D. Nick Caporale.[1][2]
2020
- See also: Nebraska Supreme Court elections, 2020
Miller-Lerman was retained by voters on November 3, 2020, receiving 74.2% of the vote.
Nebraska Supreme Court District 2, Miller-Lerman's seat
Lindsey Miller-Lerman was retained to District 2 of the Nebraska Supreme Court on November 3, 2020 with 74.2% of the vote.
Retention Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✔ | Yes |
74.2
|
93,025 | ||
No |
25.8
|
32,350 | |||
Total Votes |
125,375 | ||||
|
|
2014
- See also: Nebraska judicial elections, 2014
Miller-Lerman was retained by voters on November 4, 2014, receiving 68.4% of the vote.[6]
| Nebraska Supreme Court, District 2 2014 general election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
Miller-Lerman 
|
42,350 | 68.4% | ||
| Against retention | 19,531 | 31.6% | ||
2008
Miller-Lerman was retained by voters on November 4, 2008, receiving 68.2% of the vote.[7]
| Nebraska Supreme Court, District 2 2008 general election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Miller-Lerman
|
77,605 | 68.2% | ||
| Against retention | 36,103 | 31.8% | ||
2002
Miller-Lerman was retained by voters on November 7, 2002, receiving 75.4% of the vote.[8]
| Nebraska Supreme Court, District 2 2002 general election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Miller-Lerman
|
45,942 | 75.4% | ||
| Against retention | 14,982 | 24.6% | ||
Nebraska Court of Appeals (1992-1998)
Miller-Lerman was appointed to the Nebraska Court of Appeals by Gov. Ben Nelson (D) in 1992.[1][2]
1996
Miller-Lerman was retained by voters on November 5, 1996, receiving 69.4% of the vote.[9]
| Nebraska Court of Appeals, District 2 1996 general election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Miller-Lerman
|
63,690 | 69.4% | ||
| Against retention | 28,129 | 30.6% | ||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lindsey Miller-Lerman did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[10]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[11]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Lindsey
Miller-Lerman
Nebraska
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Mild Democrat - Judicial Selection Method:
Assisted appointment through hybrid judicial nominating commission - Key Factors:
- Was a registered Democrat as of 2020
- Donated over $2,000 to Democratic candidates
- Appointed by a Democratic governor
Partisan Profile
Details:
Miller-Lerman was a registered Democrat as of 2020. She donated $11,095 to Democratic candidates. She was appointed by Gov. Ben Nelson (D).
Other Scores:
Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Miller-Lerman received a campaign finance score of -0.21, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.18 that justices received in Nebraska.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[12]
State supreme court judicial selection in Nebraska
- See also: Judicial selection in Nebraska
The seven justices on the Nebraska Supreme Court are selected through the assisted appointment method. The governor appoints each new justice from a list of at least two qualified nominees assembled by a judicial nominating commission.[13][14] There are separate judicial nominating commissions for each supreme court district, as well as the chief justiceship. Each commission is made up of nine members. Members of the Nebraska State Bar Association select four lawyers and the governor appoints four nonlawyers. The ninth member is a supreme court justice who serves as chairman but does not vote.[14][15]
Justices must run in a yes-no retention election during the first general election occurring after they have been on the court for three years. Subsequent terms last six years.[16]
Qualifications
To serve on the Nebraska Supreme Court, a person must:
- be at least 30 years old;
- be a U.S. citizen;
- have practiced law in Nebraska for at least five years;
- be a member of the state bar; and
- be a resident of the judicial district for which they are being appointed.[17]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the supreme court is selected through the same assisted appointment method as other justices on the court and serves in that role for the duration of his or her time on the court.[18]
Vacancies
When a vacancy occurs on the Nebraska Supreme Court, a judicial nominating commission submits the names of at least two qualified nominees to the governor, who appoints one to fill the vacancy. If the governor does not appoint one of the nominees within 60 days, the chief justice of the supreme court is authorized to select a new judge.[16]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
|
Officeholder Nebraska Supreme Court District 2 |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Daily Nebraskan, "First female judge appointed to state Supreme Court," June 15, 2006 - this article is dated in 2006, but refers to events from 1998
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Nebraska State Legislature, "Bluebook 2020-2021," accessed July 22, 2021
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ Lincoln Journal Star, "Who's on the Nebraska Supreme Court," Aug. 20, 2004
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska," accessed July 22, 2021
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Official Results of the Nebraska General Election - November 4, 2008," accessed July 22, 2021
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska," accessed July 22, 2021
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Official Results of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska," accessed July 22, 2021 - requires downloading archived canvass books
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Judicial Selection in the States: Nebraska | Overview," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 National Center for State Courts, "Judicial Selection in the States: Nebraska | Judicial Nominating Commissions," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ Nebraska Legislature, "Nebraska State Constitution Article V-21," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 State of Nebraska Judicial Branch, "Branch Overview," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ Nebraska Legislature, "Nebraska Revised Statute 24-202," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Nebraska," accessed August 16, 2021
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Nebraska • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Nebraska
State courts:
Nebraska Supreme Court • Nebraska Court of Appeals • Nebraska District Courts • Nebraska County Courts • Nebraska Separate Juvenile Courts • Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court • Nebraska Problem-Solving Courts
State resources:
Courts in Nebraska • Nebraska judicial elections • Judicial selection in Nebraska
