New York (State). Legislature. Assembly. Speaker's Office.

Melvin Miller was first elected to the Assembly in 1970, representing the 44th Assembly District in Brooklyn. He served until 1992 when his indictment and subsequent conviction on charges related to his private law practice resulted in his resignation from the Assembly.

He was elected Speaker of the Assembly on January 7, 1987, and served in a number of leadership positions since the 1975-76 session. Areas of interest during his long tenure included: reform of the Election Law; reapportionment (1980s); tuition assistance for higher education; toxic tort legislation (to allow suits against responsible parties); and crime. For many years he chaired the important Codes Committee which is responsible for all legislation affecting the state's criminal justice system and rules of civil procedure. He sponsored many measures in this area, including those involved with reforming the state's penal and criminal procedures; restitution for crime victims; criminal forfeiture of assets; and the state's "gun law" which imposed mandatory penalties on those committing a crime with a gun or caught carrying an illegal handgun.