Wendell Alverson Miles (April 17, 1916 – July 31, 2013) was a
United States district judge of the
.
Education and career
Born in
Holland,
Michigan, Miles received an
Artium Baccalaureus
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from
Hope College in 1938, a
Master of Arts from the
University of Wyoming in 1939, and a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the
University of Michigan Law School in 1942. He joined the
United States Army and reported for duty at
Fort Riley, Kansas as a private in the fall of 1942. He then served in Europe during
World War II with the 493rd Military Police Escort Guard Company as a captain, where his unit transported German prisoners of war. He also served as a lawyer trying cases in the
Judge Advocate General's Corps in Marseilles and Strasbourg, France.
After the war, he was an Instructor at Hope College while in private practice in
Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
, Michigan from 1948 to 1953, also serving as a prosecuting attorney of
Ottawa County, Michigan from 1948 to 1953. He was the
United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan from 1953 to 1960. After running unsuccessfully for
Michigan Attorney General as the
Republican nominee in 1960, he returned to private practice in Grand Rapids from 1961 to 1970. He was a Circuit Judge for the 20th Judicial Circuit of Michigan from 1970 to 1974.
Federal judicial service
On March 29, 1974, Miles was nominated by President
Richard Nixon to a seat on the
vacated by Judge
Albert J. Engel Jr.
Albert Joseph Engel Jr. (March 21, 1924 – April 5, 2013) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Education and career
Engel was born in Lake City, Michigan, the son of United States ...
Miles was confirmed by the
United States Senate on April 10, 1974, and received his commission on April 17, 1974. He served as Chief Judge from 1979 to 1986, assuming
senior status on May 6, 1986. He was a judge of the
United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from 1989 to 1996.
His service terminated on July 31, 2013, due to his death in Grand Rapids.
References
Sources
*
Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Wendell Alverson
1916 births
2013 deaths
People from Holland, Michigan
Hope College alumni
University of Wyoming alumni
University of Michigan Law School alumni
Michigan state court judges
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
Judges of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
Judge Advocates General of the United States Army
United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon
20th-century American judges
United States Army officers
United States Army personnel of World War II