Former Smethport attorney James P. Miller has been suspended from the practice of law for two years for allegedly neglecting around 50 clients in Erie County, including juveniles.
Miller, 55, is a longtime Smethport attorney who had been a district judge in Smethport, had worked in the McKean County public defender’s office and served as conflict counsel for the public defender’s office under contract with the county.
In a 39-page report, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel spelled out the allegations against Miller, who now resides in White Oak, in Allegheny County.
Miller was serving as an “outside criminal contract counsel” in Erie County, and had more than 50 cases before the Erie County Court of Common Pleas. Among the cases were juveniles and some clients with serious charges, including murder.
According to the report, in May 2021, Judge John Mead of the Erie County Court of Common Pleas ordered Miller’s cases reassigned for “lack of competence and diligence in representing his clients.” Detailing three specific cases, the chair of the board, Shelly Pagac noted in the report that Miller’s lack of attention to these clients was over a two-year time period.
“To say that (Miller) failed to act with diligence in the representation of his clients in the criminal justice system is an understatement,” the report read. Not only did he fail to communicate with clients, he failed to meet with them, failed to meet filing deadlines, and when the cases were taken from him, he “did not promptly release and return client files.”
While he was ordered by Mead to assist the newly appointed attorneys, Miller did not, the report stated. “In fact, Judge Mead had to conduct a contempt hearing and threaten (Miller) with incarceration” to get him to turn over the files.
At a hearing held in October 2022, the hearing committee asked Miller why this was happening. He “testified to vague ‘health issues’ being partially to blame for his professional failings,” the report stated. However, he did not produce medical records or reports from providers to support his claims.
The report noted that the penalty of a two-year suspension is such that Miller would have to file a petition for reinstatement to practice law again, noting the record demonstrated Miller’s “repeated failures to properly serve his clients, adhere to deadlines or follow court orders.”
It was noted in the report that Miller did not respond to the recommendation of the Disciplinary Board and did not file a post-hearing brief. When presented with the petition for discipline in April 2022, Miller did not file an answer.
The order of suspension was dated June 13.
