The aroma of the pipe meant Judge Ben J. Miller was in his chambers. Whatever question needed to be addressed was about to be answered.

The smell of the pipe is gone. Judge Miller died on Friday, December 5, 2009 after a lengthy bout with pneumonia. But, his impact upon the Griffin Judicial Circuit will be fondly remembered for decades to come.

“I think it’s safe to say that Upson County has lost one of its outstanding citizens,” said Paschal English, Chief Superior Court Judge for the Griffin Judicial Circuit. “He was easily the most influential man in my life. He’s the very reason I came to Upson County. It’s like losing a father, brother and dear friend all in one.”

Born March 11, 1936 and raised in Sumter County, Georgia, Ben Miller graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in business administration in 1958. In 1965 he graduated from law school at Georgia and soon came to Thomaston to practice law.

When Andrew J. Whalen, Jr. became Superior Court Judge in 1969, Miller succeeded him as solicitor general. He served in that capacity (and as district attorney when the title to the job changed) until 1977 when he was appointed by the Governor to serve as Superior Court Judge. Although he retired in 2002, he remained active as a senior judge hearing cases around the state until his death last week.

Judge Miller’s life of service to Upson, Pike, Spalding and Fayette Counties touched thousands of lives. Hundreds of those persons flooded the Thomaston First Presbyterian Church Saturday morning to mourn his passing.

Many were lawyers whose careers Judge Miller helped shape.

“Judge Miller was larger than life,” said Joe Saia, the Circuit Public Defender. “He influenced the way I saw my role in the system.”

The Honorable Johnnie L. Caldwell, Jr. echoed those sentiments.

“He was my mentor as a DA and as a judge. He was somebody you’d want to emulate, both for his legal knowledge as well as for what you and I would call his ‘walking around sense.”

The Honorable Tommy R. Hankinson added, “I think Judge Miller possessed the combination of common sense, justice and integrity that all trial judges aspire to.”

Teresa Harper, Clerk of Superior Court for Upson County, said “He was a great man. He treated everyone the same. He was a true southern gentleman.”

Many of Judge Miller’s admirers praised his fairness. Saia related a time when he was 16 minutes late to court. “Judge Miller fined me $16, one dollar for each minute I was late. The next day, the judge had some trouble at the dentist and was 23 minutes late for court. He immediately fined himself $23.”

But, not everybody who comes to court wants fairness. Criminal defendants prefer mercy. If they smelled the pipe smoke, they were about to be disappointed.

Judge Miller was “very pro-law enforcement,” recalled Upson County Sheriff Don Peacock. It was that reputation that led to his nickname, “the Round Judge.”

When the Griffin Circuit had only two judges, Judge Whalen and Judge Miller, a defendant was planning his guilty plea with his lawyer. He told the lawyer, “Now, there are two judges. One is a long judge [Judge Whalen was tall and thin] and the other is round. Don’t put me in front of that round judge!”

Judge Miller demanded good manners in his court. He would correct lawyers who called each other by their first names in open court. Lawyers who insulted each other were chided. I can remember one lawyer who insulted the judge.

A former U.S. Congressman came to court and argued that his client was entitled to a new trial because Judge Miller had eaten lunch with the prosecutor. The judge took a ten minute recess to compose himself. Then he returned to the bench, peered over his eyeglasses, and responded, “It’s been said that every man has his price. And, if that’s true, I guess it must also apply to me. But, you can rest assured that if I am to be bought, it’s gonna take a lot more than cornbread and black-eyed peas to do it.”

Judge Miller made decisions that reflected his principles. After Georgia enacted the state-run lottery, he quit sentencing individuals charged with gambling. “I don’t feel like I should put people in jail for doing something that the government is also doing,” he said. And when schools enacted zero-tolerance policies in the wake of the Columbine attacks, Judge Miller’s common sense remained intact. He said, “I don’t think it’s right to give a kid a felony record for forgetting to leave his pocket knife at home when he goes to school.”

The Honorable Christopher C. Edwards recalls an example of Judge Miller’s dedication to principle. “On [September 11, 2001] Judge Miller and I each had a jury trial going in Fayette County. When we got word of attacks, we recessed and walked outside together. Chief Judge Miller lit his pipe and said, ‘Chris, it seems to me that whoever did this would want us to panic and shut this court down, which is what they’d like to see happen. So, let’s not do what they’d like us to do.’ We recessed for one hour for jurors to call families and then resumed jury trials. I know of no other courts that stayed open on 9-11. When lawyers want a continuance, I will always think of Chief Judge Miller—of all they hate about us, our enemies hate our jury trial system most of all.”

Imagine for a moment a terrorist standing before “the Round Judge” for sentencing!

Of course, for that to have happened, Judge Miller would have had to accept an appointment to the Federal bench. I don’t think that would have happened. He loved this circuit too much.

I remember asking him, when I was President of the Fayette County Bar Association in the early 1990’s, if he would allow me to nominate him for the Georgia Court of Appeals. He called me the next day and declined. “I’m not sure I want to drive to Atlanta every day to work,” he said. I think that was part of his rationale. The other part, I believe, is that he didn’t want to quit serving the citizens of this circuit as our judge.

Well, his body may be gone. And, the pipe aroma may be gone. But, the impact of the Honorable Ben J. Miller upon the Griffin Judicial Circuit will live on for many years.