Cylenthia LaToye Miller was appointed Judge of the 36^th Judicial District Court on April 10, 2006 and elected by the people of the city of Detroit in November 2006.  Judge Miller presides over cases from all of the Court’s dockets, including Real Estate, Traffic and Ordinance, General Civil Claims under $25,000, Criminal Misdemeanor, and Felony Examinations.  She is honored and humbled to serve on one of the busiest courts in the country.

She is the daughter of George B. Miller, Jr. and Sharon E. Bernard Miller, the first Black couple to graduate from the University of Arkansas Law School.  In fact, her mother is the first Black woman lawyer in the history of the state of Arkansas.  As the daughter of such trailblazers, Judge Miller was taught, at a very young age, the critical importance of service to the community, equal justice for all, and faith with works. 

Judge Miller is the former Director of the Detroit Workforce Development Department, a Michigan Works! Agency.  In her capacity as director, she supervised and directed the daily activities of the department and contractors.  Most importantly, Judge Miller exhibited tremendous integrity when she reported excess grant funds in the department and called in a forensic audit firm and ultimately, the State and Federal monitors.  That decision lead to the department returning over $10 million in improperly withheld funds to the State and Federal government.  In addition, she managed and oversaw a budget that at times exceeded $100 million during the course of her four-year tenure. Finally, she ensured that the department and contractors complied with the federal, state, and local statutes, regulations, rules, and policies for the grants and programs within the department. 

Judge Miller has extensive experience as a labor and employment attorney and has handled all phases of traditional labor and employment litigation matters while in private practice at Lewis & Munday, P.C. and at Dykema Gossett, PLLC.  Judge Miller’s practice included AFSCME labor negotiations, school district & municipal arbitration hearings, administrative matters and cases involving harassment and discrimination based on race, gender, age, religion, and disability, breach of contract, ERISA benefits, and defamation of character. 

She worked during high school, college, and law school, which she explains to persons who appear before her in order to encourage them to obtain employment and further, to understand that if she did it, so can they.  Consequently, before becoming an attorney, Judge Miller was employed as an Intake Specialist and later, as a Crisis Line Counselor and Supervisor at Neighborhood Service Organization; a Regulatory Specialist at the Michigan Credit Union League; a Mediator of landlord/tenant disputes at Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services; a Law Librarian at the UAW Headquarters; a Legal Secretary at a local law firm; and a Police Cadet Supervisor & Payroll Assistant for the Detroit Police Department, among other positions.  As a result, she brings skills and experience to the bench that uniquely qualify her to be a Judge. 

She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Wayne State University in 1988 and attended the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor).  She received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Michigan State University-Detroit College of Law in 1996.  Judge Miller was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 1996 and to the State Bar of Arkansas in 1997. 

Judge Miller is President of the Association of Black Judges of Michigan (By-Laws Committee Chairperson & Cross Bar Community Forum Chairperson); a member of the Michigan District Judges Association Board of Directors (Newsletter Committee Chairperson); and Vice-Chair, Charitiers I.  She is also a Golden Heritage Life Member of the NAACP, Gold Sustaining member of the Trade Union Leadership Council, and a member of St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church; National Council of Negro Women; National Congress of Black Women; the Wolverine Bar Association; the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan; the State Bar of Michigan; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; the National Lawyers Guild; the Democratic Party (Member - Eleanor Roosevelt, Wayne County Black Caucus, and the 13^th & 14^th Congressional Districts).   Judge Miller is Immediate Past Chair and a current Board member of the Women Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association; a Past President of the Wolverine Bar Association; a Past President of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan; and a former Michigan Democratic Party Precinct Delegate in the 13^th Congressional District. 

Throughout her career, Judge Miller has received numerous awards and honors, including, but not limited to:  Humanitarian of the Year Award, Michigan Business & Technical Institute, December 2009; 2008-09 Member of the Year, Association of Black Judges of Michigan, August 2009; President’s Award, National Bar Association, August 2009, 2006, & 2000; Certificate of Congressional Recognition, Cong. Sheila Jackson Lee, July 2008;  Distinguished Service Award, Detroit City Council, February 2008;  Sheroe Award, McKinney Elementary School, February 2008; Special Recognition Award, Wolverine Bar Association, June 2007; Shining Star Award, Wolverine Bar Association, September 2005; Citizen Lawyer Award, State Bar of Michigan, August 2005; Distinguished Alumni Award, Wolverine Student Bar Association, April 2003; Top 5 Up & Coming Lawyer, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, August 2001; 2000-2001 Member of the Year, Wolverine Bar Association, June 2001; and Dent/Murphy Trailblazer Award, Wolverine Student Bar Association, Spring 2000. 

Judge Miller is also a published co-author of the following articles:  Former Drug Addicts in the Workplace, An Employer's Dilemma, Laches, Oakland County Bar Association, August 1998, No. 391, with co-author, Thomas J. Guyer; and Sexual Harassment:  Recent U. S. Supreme Court Decisions, Labor and Employment Lawnotes, Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, Winter 1998, Vol. 8, No. 4, with co-author, Camille Stearns Miller.