Miller v. State, 94 So. 3d 1120

Miller was convicted of aggravated assault and forcible rape of Abby, the minor daughter of his girlfriend, and appealed; appellate court affirmed; supreme court granted certiorari for review of recusal issue.
Judge Harrison, who presided over the trial, had previously served as the county youth-court prosecutor in a shelter hearing concerning Abby’s custody arising from the same abuse.
Miller moved for recusal four days before trial, arguing participation in the shelter hearing created impartiality concerns.
The trial court denied recusal; Miller was convicted and sentenced to 20 years for aggravated assault and 30 years for forcible rape, consecutive.
Court of Appeals affirmed; supreme court reversed and remanded for a new trial due to the trial judge’s failure to recuse in light of the shelter hearing’s overlap with the criminal matter.
Court held that Judge Harrison’s participation in the shelter hearing constituted the same matter and violated impartiality rules, necessitating recusal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial judge abused discretion by failing to recuse	Miller argues judge was disqualified due to youth-court role	Harrison contends civil shelter hearing not the same matter	Yes; recusal required; manifest abuse of discretion.

Jenkins v. State, 570 So.2d 1191 (Miss. 1990) (canon-based disqualification when impartiality might be questioned)
Banana v. State, 638 So.2d 1329 (Miss. 1994) (prosecution involvement triggers disqualification in related matters)
Moore v. State, 573 So.2d 688 (Miss. 1990) (participation in matter by prosecutor requires recusal)
Rutland v. Pridgen, 493 So.2d 952 (Miss. 1986) (impartiality standard for judges)
James v. Mississippi Bar, 962 So.2d 528 (Miss. 2007) (broad definition of ‘matter’ in judicial ethics)