Samuel Freeman Miller (April 5, 1816 – October 13, 1890) was an American lawyer and physician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1862 until his death in 1890 and who authored landmark opinions in United States v. Kagama and The Slaughterhouse Cases.
Samuel Freeman Miller
Supreme Court of the United States
Born 1816 in Richmond, KY
Died 1890 in Washington, DC
FJC ID: 1650
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 13/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 117/year
Supreme Court of the United States · 1862–1890
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Private practice, Keokuk, Iowa1850–1862
- Private practice, Barbourville, Kentucky1847–1850
- Barbourville, KentuckyJustice of the peace and member of the county court
Appointments
1862–1890 · Appointed by Abraham Lincoln (Republican)Term ended: Death
Education
- Read law1847
- Transylvania UniversityM.D. · 1838