Shackelford Miller, Jr.

Shackelford Miller, Jr. (September 4, 1892 – November 24, 1965) was a United States federal judge.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Miller received an A.B. from Princeton University in 1914 and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1917. He was in private practice in Louisville, Kentucky from 1919 to 1939.

On February 16, 1939, Miller was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky vacated by Elwood Hamilton. Miller was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 20, 1939, and received his commission on March 4, 1939.

On November 23, 1945, President Harry S. Truman nominated Miller for elevation to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated by Elwood Hamilton. Miller was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 4, 1945, and received his commission on December 11, 1945. He served as chief judge from 1961 to 1962. He assumed senior status on November 1, 1965, but died before the end of that month.

Affectionately known to his many friends as "Shack," he lived his life in Louisville, Kentucky. He was the second of three sons of a family which took an active part in the civic, political, and judicial life of Louisville and of Kentucky. His father, Shackelford Miller, was for many years a chancellor of the Jefferson Circuit Court and later Chief Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. His mother, Mary Floyd Welman, who died in 1960 at the age of 99 was highly regarded for her many years of service in civic affairs and as a Democratic campaign volunteer and speech maker. His elder brother, Welman Miller, died in 1913 and his younger brother, Neville Miller, who died in 1977, was dean of the University of Louisville Law School and later Mayor of Louisville in 1933-37.

Shackelford received many honors while at Louisville Male High School and graduated as valedictorian of the Class of 1910. His interest in High School was lifelong, and the High School alumni honored him in 1956 with the school's outstanding alumnus award.

He graduated from Princeton in 1914 and pursued his studies at the Harvard Law School, from which he received his LL.B degree in 1917. He joined the army in the spring of 1917, trained at Fort Myer, Camp Taylor, and Fort Knox. In August, 1917, he married Francis S. Effinger of Staunton, Va., and Washington, D. C. In 1918 he went to France as captain in the 335th Field Artillery Regiment.

Upon his return from France in 1919, he formed with his father, Shackelford Miller, who had retired from the Court of Appeals, the law firm of Miller and Miller. In 1920 they were joined by his younger brother, Neville, and they continued the firm after the death of their father in 1924 until 1930 when Neville became dean of the University Louisville Law School. Shackelford was then associated for a number of years with Wilson W. Wyatt and later formed with Arthur Grafton the law firm of Miller and Grafton and engaged in private practice until 1939 when he was appointed by President Roosevelt as Federal District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky, succeeding Judge Elwood Hamilton who had been elevated to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Following the death of Judge Hamilton in 1945, Shackelford was appointed by President Truman to succeed Judge Hamilton and served as Judge of the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit for 19 years until his resignation on November 1, 1965. He was Chief Judge during 1961-62.

The legal profession had a high regard for Shackelford's judicial talents. The late Judge Elwood Hamilton, in a tribute to him at a 1939 dinner of the Louisville Bar Association, said he possessed "those qualities which make for high judicial standing, including all-important mental and moral honesty and fairness of mind."

Following the death of his wife in 1931, Shackelford became active in Democratic affairs and served as Chairman of the Democratic City and County Executive Committee from 1932 to 1939. He was Chairman of the Democratic State Campaign Committee in 1938 and directed the successful primary campaign of Senator Alben W. Barkley.

He represented the U. S. Government as a special attorney handling Louisville's slum clearance and low cost housing projects and was receiver of the old Banco-Kentucky Co.

He was active in the affairs of the Louisville Bar Association of which he was president in 1932 and of the Kentucky State Bar Association which honored him with the Outstanding Member of the Year Award in 1961. He was also active in the affairs of the American Bar Association and as a member of a special ABA committee, he worked for three years helping draft the American Bar Association's code of disciplinary procedures, and for a number of years he served as a member of the association's standing committee on professional ethics. He was a member of the board of directors of the American Judiciary Society and was appointed by the Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1960 to serve on a special committee to recommend improvement of the rules of practice for federal courts.

He was a member of the Louisville County Club, the Pendennis Club, the Filson Club, the Helium Club, the Lawyers Club, and the Second Presbyterian Church.

He died on November 24, 1965 in his 74th year, survived by his daughter, Mrs. Francis (Peggy) Martin and her three children and his brother, Neville, of Washington, D.C., also by four additional grandchildren, the children of his daughter, Mrs. Robert (Frances) Hultgren of Colonia, New Jersey who died in 1964. He was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery Lot 154 Section 11, Louisville KY (38° 14.632'N 85° 42.803'W).

References

• Shackelford Miller, Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.