Ms. Miller has over 30 years of experience in providing legal services to numerous public agency and private clients, including cities, counties, local agency formation commissions (LAFCo), special districts, joint powers authorities, transportation commissions, and councils of governments. Ms. Miller provides a full range of litigation services in both trial and appellate courts including the California Supreme Court.
RELATED EXPERIENCE
Prior to joining Sloan Sakai, Ms. Miller was the President of Miller & Owen, a Sacramento law firm that provided legal services across California. Ms. Miller is a “preeminent lawyer,” the highest ranking by Martindale-Hubble, and since 2004, she has been rated as a “Super Lawyer” by “Law and Politics” magazine. From 2000-2010 Ms. Miller served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law teaching Local Government Law and currently serves on the Board of Governors of the University of California, Hastings College of Law in San Francisco.
REPRESENTATIVE PUBLISHED DECISIONS
- Board of Supervisors v. Sacramento County Local Agency Formation Commission (1992) 3 Cal.4th 903, where Ms. Miller was lead counsel defending LAFCo in litigation challenging LAFCo’s approval of an incorporation on constitutional, statutory, CEQA, and land use law grounds. A unanimous Supreme Court upheld LAFCo’s action.
- Cequel III Communications I, LLC v. Nevada County Local Agency Formation Commission (2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 310, where Ms. Miller successfully represented the Truckee Donner Public Utility District in this action challenging a decision by the Nevada County Local Agency Formation Commission. The Plaintiff in the action was a cable company seeking to prevent the District from providing broadband and other services. The Superior Court ruled in favor of the District and Nevada LAFCo. The Plaintiff appealed the decision and after briefing and oral argument, the decision was upheld in favor of the District and Nevada LAFCo.
- Beach-Courchesne v. City of Diamond Bar (2000) 80 Cal.App.4th 388, where Ms. Miller acted as amicus counsel to a number of counties objecting to the redevelopment plan of the City of Diamond Bar. The Court unanimously agreed with the County’s position and invalidated the plan.
- County of Solano v. Vallejo Redevelopment Agency (1999) 75 Cal.App.4th 1262, where Ms. Miller acted as lead counsel in litigating on behalf of the County of Vallejo against the redevelopment agency. The issue involved the financing of more than $30 million of improvements and CEQA issues. The dispute was successfully resolved in the County’s favor and Ms. Miller received an award of attorney’s fees.
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
- Moderator, “Connecting LAFCOs & COGs for Mutual Benefit,” CALAFCO Annual Conference (2014)
- Presenter, “Integrating Sustainable Communities Strategies with the LAFCo Application Process,” CALAFCO Annual Conference (2012)
- Presenter, “Community Choice Aggregation Act; Where Are We Now?,” Senate Select Committee on Renewable Energy (2010)
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
- Board of Governors, University of California Hastings College of Law
- President, California Commission on Autism Foundation
- Board Member, California Citizen Compensation Commission
- Board Member, California Musical Theater
- Board Member, KVIE Public Broadcasting Station
- Board Member, Sacramento Federal Judicial Library and Learning Center Foundation
- Chairman, Judicial Selection Committee, U.S. District Court, Eastern District
- Member, Sacramento County Bar Association, Court Funding Task Force
- Member, Sacramento County Bar Association, Public Law Section
- Member, State Bar of California, Public Law Section