United States Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller, who has served the District Court of the Virgin Islands since 2010, will be retiring in July, Chief District Court Judge Robert A. Molloy announced Wednesday.
Miller was appointed as Magistrate Judge for the Division of St. Thomas/St. John on April 26, 2010, and was later reappointed on April 26, 2018. She will retire on July 25.
“During her tenure, Judge Miller served the federal judiciary with distinction, handling preliminary, pretrial and trial matters in civil and criminal cases, and other matters as assigned. She is known to be a knowledgeable jurist of exceptional temperament who takes great pride in moving her cases. Judge Miller is a stickler for timeliness, civility, and professional responsibility — aiding in the effective and efficient management of the Court’s docket,” according to the press release announcing her retirement.
“It has been a great honor and privilege to serve the people of the Virgin Islands in the District Court,” Miller said in a statement. “It is bittersweet to be moving on, but I know the next generation of lawyers and judges will continue to raise the bar in administering justice in this community.”
Miller grew up in Evanston, Illinois, attended college at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and graduated from the John Marshall Law School (now the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law) in 1983. She left a partnership in a Big Law firm to move to the Virgin Islands in 1993, where she became a dedicated “boatie,” practicing in the territory both as a solo practitioner and with the firm of Dudley Topper Feuerzeig before joining the Court.
Miller served on the board of Legal Services, and was an international judge for sailing events, traveling the world for 20 years, according to the release. She and her husband, Galen Swingen, have a large family of rescued cats and look forward to spending more time playing golf and being on the water, it said.
“On behalf of the entire District Court family, Chief District Judge Robert A. Molloy extends his sincere gratitude for the 14 years of dedicated service that Judge Miller provided to the District Court of the Virgin Islands, the legal community of the Virgin Islands, and the people of the territory. We wish her a very happy retirement!” the release stated.
