Eric D. Miller

Eric David Miller (born 1975) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Early life and education.
Miller was born in Oak Park, Illinois. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in physics, magna cum laude, from Harvard College in 1996. Miller then attended the University of Chicago Law School, earning a Juris Doctor in 1999 with highest honors. In law school, he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as the topics and comments editor of the "University of Chicago Law Review". 
Career.
Upon graduation from law school, Miller served as a law clerk to Judge Laurence Silberman of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and later to Associate Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Early in his career, Miller served in the Department of Justice as an Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel (2003–2004) and as a member of the Appellate Staff in the Civil Division (2001–2003, 2004–2006). Miller also served as Deputy General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission (2006–2007) and spent five years (2007–2012) as an Assistant to the Solicitor General in the Office of the Solicitor General within the Department of Justice. He received the Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award in 2008 for his work on national security litigation.
Before becoming a judge, Miller was a partner at Perkins Coie from 2012 to 2019 in the firm's Seattle office. In that capacity, he served as the firm-wide chair of Perkins Coie's appellate practice. Miller is also a part-time lecturer at the University of Washington School of Law. He has argued more than sixty appeals, including sixteen before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Federal judicial service.
On July 13, 2018, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Miller to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On July 19, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Miller to the seat vacated by Judge Richard C. Tallman, who took senior status on March 3, 2018. On October 24, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Miller for a federal judgeship. His nomination was sent to the Senate later that day. On February 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On February 25, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on Miller nomination by a vote of 51–46, and on the following day, voted to confirm him by a 53–46 vote. He received his judicial commission on March 4, 2019.
His appointment was noteworthy as his home state senators (Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, of Washington) did not support his nomination and refused to return their blue slips in order to show their objection to it. He was the first federal judicial nominee to be so confirmed.
On April 7, 2020, Miller joined an opinion written by Milan Smith ruling that immigrants detained for six months or more must be granted bond hearings.
Miller was a member of the Federalist Society from 1996 to 1999, 2000–2004 and 2016–2017.