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The people of Lafourche Parish have chosen “Steve” Miller to serve as judge in Division B of the 17th Judicial Court.
Miller is replacing long-time judge Jerome Barbera, who chose not to seek a fifth full term. Miller defeated John J. Erny III in the runoff election Saturday.
“I look forward to working for the people of Lafourche Parish. It’s an honor to serve. I’m humbled by the support I received, and I look forward to getting to work,” Miller said in a phone interview with The Times.
Miller garnered 65 percent of the vote in the runoff versus Erny after receiving 41 percent of the vote in November’s primary election versus competitors Erny and Anthony P. “Tony” Lewis.
“I want to thank everybody who supported me. It was a lot of work, couldn’t have done it by myself, appreciate all the people that have worked for me and everybody that voted for me,” Miller said. “I want to recognize John Erny for running a tough, clean race. A lot of times there’s a lot of negative politicking going on, but I don’t think that happened in our race, and I think that s fantastic.
Miller – a felony prosecutor for the Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office and a private attorney – is now tasked with closing his private practice and attending seminars for judges-elect before assuming the judgeship Jan. 1. He’ll be on call on New Year’s Day, handling tasks such as setting bonds and signing warrants, and once on the bench, he’ll take over all of the cases on Barbera’s docket. Miller said he met with Barbera Monday morning.
“He’s surely going to be a tremendous help in getting me situated and getting things rolling,” Miller said. “I think he’s going to be a tremendous resource to me, because he has made himself available to answer any questions or provide guidance to me in the transition. He has expressed a willingness to do that, and I’m grateful. He’s been there a long time. He certainly knows where everything is, so I’m going to try to take advantage of that.”
Additionally, Barbera represents one in a long line of judges whom Miller said he wishes to emulate.
“We have a history of hard working, honest judges in Lafourche Parish who take their jobs very seriously,” said the judge elect. “As for what I want to accomplish, first and foremast I want to maintain what’s already in place as far as having hard working, conscious judges. If you set that as your goal, everything, I think, is going to fall in place for you.”
Miller, 47, said he has not yet decided how long he wishes to serve on the bench. He will next come up for re-election, if he so chooses, in six years.
Miller
