William Miller. Courtesy photo

William Miller, the former supervising judge of the New York City criminal court in Brooklyn for more than a quarter century—leading the integral court through a time of innovation, including the implementation of drug treatment courts and an oft-emulated program that allows lower-level offenders to get jail-sentence alternatives—has died.

He passed away in the hospital in the early morning hours of Sunday, said his wife of 32 years, Teresa Fabi, a former longtime assistant district attorney in the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office. The cause of death was cancer. He was 76.

"Many aspire to a career with just a fraction of the depth, length, and esteem of Judge Miller's," said the Brooklyn DA's Office chief of staff in a bereavement notice sent to staff on Sunday.

Miller, who eventually was elected to the state Supreme Court in Brooklyn in 2012, serving on that bench until his 2019 retirement, had himself spent almost 15 years as a Brooklyn assistant district attorney from 1969 to 1983.

Added the Brooklyn DA's Office chief of staff Maritza Ming in the bereavement notice, "Judge Miller played key roles in Brooklyn's criminal justice system for half a century, and leaves a legacy of distinguished service in the pursuit of justice."

Ming wrote that "very early [in his ADA career], he adopted what has become our central ethos: prosecutors exist not to obtain convictions, but to do justice and keep people safe." She also noted that Miller rose through the ranks at the office in the 1970s and early 1980s, becoming a chief assistant district attorney before leaving for the city criminal court bench.

For Barry Kamins, an Aidala Bertuna & Kamins partner and a former state Supreme Court justice, who cherished a close friendship with Miller that began during their shared years as Brooklyn assistant district attorneys in the 1970s, it was the "humanity" and love of job that Miller brought to the criminal court bench that he will remember fondly, he said.

"I think what always stood out about Bill was his humanity. He treated everybody equally, fairly, and he always wanted to help new judges as they came onto the bench," Kamins told the Law Journal in a phone interview on Monday.

"He would go out of his way to make people feel comfortable," Kamins added, "and he treated witnesses, victims and litigants humanely."

Kamins also noted of his longtime friend and one-time colleague, "He always said that the [local] criminal court was the people's court of New York City, that this is where the human tragedies and problems really come together."

Teresa Fabi said in a phone interview on Monday that her late husband "just loved everything about" his longtime job on the Brooklyn local criminal court and about being a judge.

"He loved mentoring the other judges and lawyers," she said, and in the Brooklyn criminal court, "He loved everybody in the courthouse."

Just since Sunday, she said, she has received an "outpouring" of supportive and loving messages to her through Facebook—including from many lawyers and judges who worked with or appeared before Miller, whether in the local criminal court, which handles mostly misdemeanors, or in the state Supreme Court's criminal division.

"Not too many judges could inspire love from prosecutors, defense attorneys, fellow judges, clerks, court offices, defendants, everyone," said one lawyer who wrote to her. "He was a kind, decent man," the lawyer added in the message, a copy of which Fabi sent to the Law Journal.

Both Kamins and Fabi noted that Miller and his family lived just around the corner from the Brooklyn criminal courthouse, and that the proximity worked well for an always-devoted Miller.

"He would come on the weekends to make sure everything was running smoothly," said Kamins, his voice growing louder as he said it.

Kamins added that Miller "was there during the years when that court was asked to try new programs involving drug treatment and mental health courts, and he embraced those programs and helped to develop them as the years went on."

Said Fabi on Monday, "Bill was the funniest man, and he was the kindest person. He just had so much love."

He is survived by Fabi and three children. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced, the family said.