# Michael Millman

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Michael_Millman
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Michael_Millman.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Millman
> Source revision: 1342675950
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{short description|American lawyer}}
{{Infobox person
|name    = Michael G. Millman
|image         =
|alt           = 
|birth_date    = {{Birth date|1939|07|09}}
|birth_place   = Brooklyn, New York
|death_date    = {{Death date and age|2014|05|31|1939|07|09}}
|death_place   = 
|education     = [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) <small>([B.S.](/source/Bachelor_of_Science))</small><br>[University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley) <small>([M.S.](/source/Master_of_Science))</small><br>[Yale Law School](/source/Yale_Law_School) <small>([J.D.](/source/Juris_Doctor))</small>
|occupation    = Appellate Defense Attorney
|known_for     = Founder of [http://www.capsf.org/ California Appellate Project]
|notable_works = 
|spouse        = Cynthia Taylor Millman
|partner       =
|children      = Laura, David and Matthew
|parents       = Sidney and Dorothy Millman
|website     = 
}}

'''Michael G. Millman''' (July 9, 1939 &ndash; May 31, 2014) was an American criminal defense lawyer, founder of the California Appellate Project, and an anti-death penalty activist.

==Family and education==
Michael Millman was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and he grew up in [Summit, N.J.](/source/Summit%2C_N.J.)<ref name=LA>{{cite news|last1=Dolan|first1=Maura|title=Michael Millman, champion of legal aid for the condemned, dies at 74|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-michael-millman-20140604-story.html|newspaper=LA Times|date=4 June 2014 |access-date=25 January 2015}}</ref> Millman was the only child of Sidney, a physicist, and Dorothy, a teacher.<ref name=LA/> Millman graduated from [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) in 1960 with a degree in physics and obtained a master's degree in physics from UC Berkeley.<ref name=LA/> Moved by the social justice activism of the 1960s, Millman decided to study law—instead of science—and graduated from [Yale Law School](/source/Yale_Law_School) in 1969.<ref name=LA/> During the [civil rights movement](/source/civil_rights_movement) he worked with, and was deeply inspired by, Alabama Attorney [Fred Gray](/source/Fred_Gray_(attorney)), who had represented Dr. [Martin Luther King](/source/Martin_Luther_King), [Rosa Parks](/source/Rosa_Parks).<ref name=civil>{{cite web|title=CAP Announces Millman's Death|url=http://www.capsf.org/about-mmillman.asp|website=capsf.org|access-date=12 February 2015}}</ref>

Millman married Cynthia Taylor Millman. He had three children Dr. Laura Dillard, David Millman, and Matthew Millman. He had three stepchildren from his marriage to Cynthia; and 13 grandchildren.<ref name=LA/>

==Legal career==
After law school, Millman worked for the Alameda County public defender for about six years.<ref name=LA/> He then joined the Office of the State Public Defender and became its death penalty coordinator after state lawmakers reinstated capital punishment in 1977.<ref name=gate>{{cite web|last1=Egelko|first1=Bob|title=Michael Millman, Death Penalty Focus co-founder, dies at 74|url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Michael-Millman-Death-Penalty-Focus-co-founder-5526332.php|website=sfgate.com|date=3 June 2014 |access-date=25 January 2015}}</ref>

In 1983, The [State Bar of California](/source/State_Bar_of_California) created The California Appellate Project as a legal resource center to implement the constitutional right to counsel for indigent persons facing [Capital punishment in California](/source/Capital_punishment_in_California).<ref name=CAP>{{cite web|title=About CAPSF|url=http://www.capsf.org/About-CAPSF.asp|website=capsf.org|access-date=25 January 2015}}</ref> At around the time of its founding, Millman became the director of CAP. Millman served as director of CAP for 30 years.<ref name=cal>{{cite web|title=Supreme Court Marks Passing of Michael Millman|url=http://www.courts.ca.gov/26145.htm|website=courts.ca.gov|publisher=California Supreme Court|access-date=7 February 2015}}</ref> In his role at CAP, he oversaw the efforts to assist private lawyers representing the more than 700 people on California's death row.<ref name=cal/>

Millman was also active in the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, serving as President of its Board of Governors in 1984. He also served on a Supreme Court committee formed to improve the timely handling of capital case appeals and habeas corpus petitions.<ref name=cal/> In 2013, Millman was awarded CACJ's Significant Contributions to Criminal Justice Lifetime Achievement Award.<ref name=cacj/>

Michael Millman was a founding member of [Death Penalty Focus](/source/Death_Penalty_Focus), which is committed to the abolition of the death penalty.<ref name=lifetime>{{cite web|title=Michael Millman accepts "Lifetime Achievement Award"|url=http://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=742|website=deathpenalty.org|access-date=7 February 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207233555/http://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=742|archive-date=7 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=About Us - Death Penalty Focus|url=http://www.deathpenalty.org/section.php?id=5|website=deathpenalty.org|access-date=7 February 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206061123/http://deathpenalty.org/section.php?id=5|archive-date=6 February 2015}}</ref> Millman was also affiliated with the [Death Penalty Information Center](/source/Death_Penalty_Information_Center)—working with [Anthony Amsterdam](/source/Anthony_Amsterdam)—and served as President of its board.<ref name=cal/><ref name=cacj/> In April 2014, [Death Penalty Focus](/source/Death_Penalty_Focus) awarded Mr. Millman a Lifetime Achievement Award for his "unwavering commitment to providing high-quality representation to indigent people on death row."<ref name=cal/><ref name=lifetime/> He occasionally lectured at [Stanford Law School](/source/Stanford_Law_School).<ref name=civil/>

==Death and tributes==
On May 31, 2014, Mr. Millman died from pancreatic cancer.<ref name=cal/> Chief Justice of the [California Supreme Court](/source/California_Supreme_Court) [Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye](/source/Tani_G._Cantil-Sakauye) said of Millman: "Michael Millman was a pillar of the capital defense bar, a hero to many, and a true gentleman. He will be sorely missed, and we are deeply saddened by this great loss."<ref name=cal/> Lance Lindsey, the administrative director of CAP, said: "Michael was a profoundly kind and big-hearted man who dedicated his whole life to advancing social justice and, especially, to 'being the change we wish to see in the world' by daily acts of compassion and generosity."<ref name=cal/> The president of the [American Bar Association](/source/American_Bar_Association) James Silkenat paid tribute to Millman: "As someone who also cares deeply about justice, I thank
you for all that you have done to make this world a better place. You are the kind of lawyer and human being that we all aspire to be."<ref name=cacj>{{cite web|title=Michael Millman Tribute|url=http://www.cacj.org/documents/2014/Michael-Millman-Tribute-FINAL-FINAL.pdf|website=cacj.org|access-date=7 February 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150212063210/http://archive.calbar.ca.gov/Archive.aspx?articleId=53992&categoryId=53988&month=1&year=2004 Appellate Project Celebrates 20 years]
* [http://www.cacj.org/documents/2014/Michael-Millman-Tribute-FINAL-FINAL.pdf Tribute to Michael Millman]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Millman, Michael}}
Category:American anti–death penalty activists
Category:1939 births
Category:2014 deaths
Category:Public defenders
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:Yale Law School alumni
Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni
Category:People from Summit, New Jersey
Category:American criminal defense lawyers
Category:Lawyers from San Francisco
Category:20th-century American lawyers

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Michael Millman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Millman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Millman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.