Established in 1921 to oppose the confirmation of Andrew Miller as Federal District Court Judge for North Dakota

North Dakota Citizens Clean Court Committee (1921-1922)

The North Dakota Citizens Clean Court Committee was established in Fargo, North Dakota on December 30, 1921. It was established to actively oppose the confirmation of Andrew Miller as Federal Judge for North Dakota. The group consisted of a number of politicians and newspaper publishers from across the state.

The Clean Court Committee charged Miller, a former North Dakota Attorney General, with several charges of corruption. It was alleged that Miller had been paid by the Northern Pacific Railroad to lower taxes on its property. It was also charged that Miller had bribed several state legislators to lower the gas tax on behalf of the Standard Oil Company. Miller served as the personal attorney for prominent North Dakota figure Alexander McKenzie. The Committee charged that Miller was guilty of helping McKenzie corrupt a federal judge in Nome, Alaska.

Miller’s nomination was supported by a number of prominent persons, including former North Dakota Governor John Burke, North Dakota Senator Porter J. McCumber, and Judge Charles Amidon, who Miller was to replace on the federal bench. Despite the efforts of the Committee, Andrew Miller was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 2, 1922. He remained a Federal Judge until he retired in 1941. Miller died in March 1960.