Vern Miller (December 22, 1928 – June 11, 2021) was an American attorney, politician, and law enforcement officer who served as the
Kansas attorney general
The Attorney General of Kansas is a statewide elected official responsible for providing legal services to the state government of Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is ...
from 1971 to 1975.
Early life and education
Miller was born in
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...
in 1928. At three years old, his family moved to a 10-acre farm in the city, raising cows and selling milk.
[ He attended primary schools there, and attended ]Wichita North High School
Wichita North High School, known locally as North, is a public secondary school in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is operated by Wichita USD 259 school district and serves students in grades 9 to 12. The school was founded in 1929 on the si ...
. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at 17, turning 18 while he was posted to post-WWII U.S. occupation zone in Korea. After his service he attended Friends University
Friends University is a private nondenominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas. It was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield University but was donated in 1898 to the Religious Society of Friends ...
.[ He later graduated from ]Oklahoma City University School of Law
Oklahoma City University School of Law, also known as OCU Law, is the law school of Oklahoma City University. OCU Law is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and was founded in 1907. OCU Law was located in the Sarkeys Law Center on the southwest side ...
in 1966, driving 310 miles round trip to attend night school.[
]
Career
He served as deputy sheriff of Sedgwick County, Kansas
Sedgwick County ( county code: SG) is located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 523,824, making it the second-most populous county in Kansas. Its county seat is Wichita, the most populous city in the stat ...
from 1949 to 1954, and in 1958 was elected as Sedgwick County marshal. After two terms as marshal, Miller served two terms as sheriff of Sedgwick County. As a Wichita, Kansas police laboratory investigator, he was called out to the crime scene of the Earl and Ruth Bowlin murders in Sedgwick County on April 13, 1963. He was elected Sedgwick County sheriff in 1964 and re-elected twice.
Kansas attorney general
Though he had never previously tried a case,[ he was first elected as Attorney General of Kansas in 1970 under a platform of "aggressive and visible enforcement of the state's drug and liquor laws". As attorney general, Miller participated in arrests and drug raids himself; a 1971 article detailed a Wichita drug raid in which Miller hid in the trunk of a car of an undercover agent in order to make arrests. When he was re-elected in 1972, he had gained widespread popularity across the state, winning in all of the counties. He served as attorney general until 1975. Miller made national news in 1972 when he ordered the raid of Amtrak trains that were serving liquor or wine while passing through Kansas, and in 1973, threatened to prosecute airlines that served intoxicating beverages while flying over the state. Miller sent letters requesting Braniff International, TWA and Continental halt sale in respect for state law, and told reporters that he had gotten a telegram from one airline promising to suspend beverages while over the Sunflower State.
]
1974 Kansas gubernatorial election
In 1974, he was the Democratic nominee for governor of Kansas
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
, losing by 0.49% to Republican Robert Frederick Bennett
Robert Frederick Bennett (May 23, 1927 – October 9, 2000) was an American lawyer and the 39th governor of Kansas from 1975 to 1979.
Biography
Bennett was born May 23, 1927, in Kansas City, Missouri. He married Joan Gregory, whom he met at ...
. Miller then served as Sedgwick County Prosecuting Attorney from 1976 to 1980 and opened up a law practice in his hometown of Wichita.
Personal life
In 2009, the book ''Vern Miller: Legendary Kansas Lawman'' by Mike Danford, detailing Miller's life, was published. He was married twice, and had three children and a stepchild.[Kansas lawman Vern Miller dies at 92]
''Wichita Eagle
''The Wichita Eagle'' is a daily newspaper published in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and is the largest newspaper in Wichita and the surrounding area.
History
Origins
In 1870, ''The Vidette'' was the fi ...
'', Amy Renee Leiker, June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021. One of his sons, Clifford Miller, was a police sergeant in Sedgwick County. Miller was a member of the Presbyterian Church, Kansas Bar Association, American Judicature Society and Wichita Bar Association. He was a former president of the Kansas Peace Officers Association.
Miller died on June 11, 2021, at his home in Mesa, Arizona
Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...
at the age of 92.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Vern
1928 births
2021 deaths
Politicians from Wichita, Kansas
Friends University alumni
Oklahoma City University School of Law alumni
Kansas Democrats
Kansas Attorneys General
District attorneys in Kansas
Kansas sheriffs
Arizona Democrats