Andy Miller (Ohio)

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Andy Miller

Democratic Party

Franklin County Court of Common Pleas General Division

Tenure

2021 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

4

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Ohio University, 1998

Law

The Ohio State University, Moritz School of Law, 2001

Personal

Birthplace

Dayton, Ohio

Religion

Baptist

Profession

Assistant city attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Andy Miller (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas General Division in Ohio. He assumed office on February 9, 2021. His current term ends on February 8, 2027.

Miller (Nonpartisan, Democratic Party) ran for election for judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas General Division in Ohio. Miller won in the general election on November 3, 2020. He advanced from the Democratic primary on April 28, 2020.

Miller completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Andy Miller was born in Dayton, Ohio. He earned a B.B.A. in finance from the Ohio University College of Business Administration in 1998 and a J.D. from The Ohio State University College of Law in 2001. Miller also studied international relations and economics at Boston University College of Liberal Arts and comparative legal ethics and comparative income distribution systems at Oxford University, St. Anne's College. Miller began working as an assistant city attorney for the Columbus City Attorney's Office in 2009. He previously worked as a professor of law at South Texas College of Law from 2008 to 2009, as a professor of law at Loyola University New Orleans from 2007 to 2008, as a litigation attorney at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey from 2003 to 2007, as a judicial clerk to U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Judge George H. King from 2002 to 2003, and as a judicial clerk to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Judge Reynaldo G. Garza from 2001 to 2002. Miller has served as a member of the Columbus Bar Association, the Franklin County Democratic Party, the Franklin County Democratic Lawyers Club, and the Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio.

Elections

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Franklin County, Ohio (2020)

General election

General election for Franklin County Court of Common Pleas General Division

Andy Miller defeated incumbent Jenifer A. French in the general election for Franklin County Court of Common Pleas General Division on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Miller (Nonpartisan)	50.9	264,627
		Jenifer A. French (Nonpartisan)	49.1	255,456

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 520,083
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Franklin County Court of Common Pleas General Division

Andy Miller advanced from the Democratic primary for Franklin County Court of Common Pleas General Division on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Miller	100.0	88,143

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 88,143
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Franklin County Court of Common Pleas General Division

Incumbent Jenifer A. French advanced from the Republican primary for Franklin County Court of Common Pleas General Division on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jenifer A. French	100.0	28,311

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 28,311
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Andy Miller completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Miller's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am the husband of a remarkable woman, the father of two amazing little girls, an accomplished lawyer, and a devoted public servant. I live in Hilliard, Ohio, with my wife, my daughters, my mother-in-law, two dogs, and two cats. For the past ten years, I have served the people of the City of Columbus as a civil litigator with the Columbus City Attorney's Office, and I can best expand my public service to the people of Franklin County as a Judge on the Court of Common Pleas. I graduated from The Ohio State University College of Law in 2001. During my career, I have clerked for a federal appellate judge and a federal trial judge. I have litigated complex cases at a large, multinational law firm. And, I have even been a full-time professor of law. I have constantly sought to earn my living while also doing the greatest amount of good I can for the greatest number of people. I can do that best as a Judge on the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Fairness & Independence. If elected, I will conduct myself impartially and without bias or prejudice. My rulings, decisions, and judgments will be free of improper influence from other branches of government, party politics, and outside interests.
• Thoughtfulness & Thoroughness. If elected, I will hear and consider the interests of all parties to the cases that come before me. I will endeavor to educate myself as thoroughly as possible on all aspects of those interests.
• Respect & Patience. If elected, I will treat every party and every attorney who appears before me with respect and patience, and I will also insist that they treat each other similarly.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct cautions judicial candidates against making statements of personal views that might affect public confidence in the judiciary's independence and impartiality. With that in mind, I can still say I am passionate about voting rights, voter registration, voter participation, access to the courts specifically, access to the judicial system generally, and efficient case management.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

First and foremost, I have a good heart. I believe in a world bigger than myself. I believe my duty in this life is to do what I can to make that world a better place. Second, I have a good head. I know the law, and I know it well. I learn new concepts quickly, and I have fluency in procedural and evidentiary rules. I am highly organized and (some would say) obsessed with efficiency. I have a tremendous respect for the law and its role in our society, for the courts and their place in our democracy, and for the heavy burdens and responsibilities of public service. If elected, I will use both my head and heart to be fair, impartial, effective, and efficient in serving the people of Franklin County, Ohio.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Trial judges have three primary functions. The first is to decide issues of law (though judges also decided issues of fact at times). The second is make sure the parties, attorneys, witnesses, jurors, and court personnel follow proper litigation procedures before, during, and/or after trials. The third is to manage the open cases on their dockets in such a way that each case efficiently moves through the process without unnecessary expense or delay.

Given those primary junctions, judges should focus on the following five responsibilities. First, judges should remain as objective and unbiased as is humanly possible. Second, judges should maintain a judicial temperament of patience and respect for the parties, attorneys, witnesses, and jurors who come to their courts and to the court personnel with whom they work. Third, judges should always be expanding their knowledge of the law and their capacity for legal analysis. Fourth, judges should always be looking to improve the quality of the opinions and rulings they render. Fifth, judges should focus on the timeliness of their rulings. Finally, judges should always pay careful attention to criminal sentencing and to ensure that the sentences they impose fairly balance all relevant interests and serve the purposes of criminal punishment

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I was ten years old on January 28, 1986, when the U.S. Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launch. I remember that being the first time a news event interrupted a school day.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Spider-Man. I believe the reasons are obvious.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

While most people tend to think of trial judges as presiding over trials and issuing rulings, they are also responsible for managing the cases over which they preside and seeing that those cases are dealt with fairly, impartially, and quickly. Good case management helps engender confidence in the workings of the judiciary.
Trial judges should also try to put the reasons for their rulings into writing as often as possible. At its heart, our legal system is one of precedent. Rulings by judges in the past guide the reasoning of judges today, and the rulings of judges today guide the reasoning of judges tomorrow. A well written and thoughtfully explained opinion or ruling can serve both the case in which it is rendered and the law generally.

Do you believe that empathy is an important quality for a judge?

Empathy is essential to the process of resolving disputes. A good judge should be able identify, understand, and consider all of the relevant variables at play in a given dispute, and empathy is the ability to identify, understand, and consider the positions, feelings, hopes, expectations, and experiences of the parties themselves.

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

I am running for Judge on the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas because it is the trial court of original jurisdiction in this county. I am seeking judicial office generally because of my passion for public service and my love for the law. Since my very first day of law school, I have been devoted to the law as the practical philosophy by which we can achieve and maintain a progressive and civil society. Since 2009, I have been serving the people of the City of Columbus as an Assistant City Attorney with the Columbus City Attorney's Office, and these past ten years have been some of the most rewarding of my life. There is an honor in public service, a pride in knowing that one's time and one's energy are being spent for the public good. My passion for public service has grown as strong as my love for the law. Becoming a judge will allow me to grow as both a lawyer and a public servant. If elected, I can do the greatest amount of good for the largest number of people.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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