[B]URLINGTON — Vermont’s new U.S. Attorney pledged to work with law enforcement and others across the state to combat the opiate epidemic at a swearing-in ceremony Tuesday morning.
After taking the oath of office in the U.S. District Court in Burlington, U.S. Attorney Eric Miller said that opiate addiction is “the most critical issue facing this office and this state.”
In a courtroom packed with Vermont’s top government and law enforcement officials, Miller became the state’s 37th U.S. Attorney — the top federal prosecutor in the state.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., recommended Miller for the post earlier this year to replace Tristram Coffin, who left the job for private practice in January. Coffin held the post for six years.
Miller was nominated by President Barack Obama in May, and a few weeks later was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on a voice vote.
Leahy said Tuesday that after Coffin resigned in January, he received many phone calls pitching Miller to fill the job — including one call from Gov. Peter Shumlin.
Leahy said that Miller was a natural candidate.
“We’re a little state,” Leahy said Tuesday. “We’re darn lucky we have people like Eric Miller.”
Shumlin lauded Miller for having “an extraordinary ability to see other people’s point of view.”
Miller’s wife, Liz, served as Shumlin’s chief of staff until last month when she left to take a position in the private sector.
In remarks at the ceremony, Miller said he will work with experts in mental health and substance abuse issues to help Vermonters deal with the opiate addiction crisis. He said that his job extends beyond litigation.
“We’re not the department of prosecutions. We’re not even the department of public safety,” Miller said. “We are the Department of Justice.”
After the ceremony, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said he appreciated Miller’s comments on his approach to drugs in Vermont.
“We understand that opiates are not just a law enforcement challenge,” Weinberger said.
Miller previously worked as a lawyer in Burlington for the firm Sheehey Furlong and Behm, where he started in 1999. He became a partner in 2002. He has also served on the Criminal Justice Act panel of the U.S. District Court.