Danny Miller ’05 Took Judges on a Road Trip to Promote Democracy

Just a few days after celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States, Danny Miller ’05 boarded a bus with about 30 retired judges, lawyers, and civic leaders on both sides of the political aisle. They were on a mission to speak with their fellow Americans about the rule of law and the importance of an independent judiciary. 

“I think this is a moment when all Americans need to come together to understand why the rule of law matters,” Miller says. “Standing up for America is not partisan, standing up for the rule of law is not partisan, and trying to educate Americans why the rule of law is worth keeping couldn’t be less partisan.”

This is not Miller’s first democracy rodeo: He’s a former senior adviser at Democracy Forward and former director of content and strategy at the Renew Democracy Initiative. He also founded the Society for Constitutional Protection 10 years ago, and last year he co-founded the Democracy Rising Collaborative in an effort to stand up for democracy and the rule of law.

While studying astrophysics during his time at Princeton, Miller says, he found the University’s unofficial motto, “In the nation’s service and the service of humanity,” important in guiding his future work. “It wasn’t just some throwaway line. I always thought what I would do with my career, my life, would be bigger than just serving myself,” he says. 

Miller says he has seen key aspects of a constitutional republic come under attack in recent years, from the promise of free and fair elections to a peaceful transfer of power, and he has seen government power weaponized to intimidate institutions or perceived political opponents. That shift led Miller to board this bus. Inspired by a similar tour in Warsaw in 2020 and 2021 when legal minds in Poland were concerned about threats to democracy there, Miller’s Democracy Rising Collaborative and the civic education organization Keep Our Republic planned the Justice in Motion bus tour to introduce the rule of law as an everyday kitchen table issue, not just a theoretical principle. 

Courtesy of Danny Miller ’05

Over four days through in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan, Miller and his fellow passengers stopped 12 times at public libraries, courthouses, schools, and community centers for “honest conversations” with the people they found there, he says. The judges also marched through the streets of Columbus, Ohio, in their robes and held roses as a sign of judicial independence. A documentary about the bus tour is expected in September. 

“I do think we reached people, we weren’t just preaching to the choir,” Miller says. “I think the vast majority of Americans — if you frame things in a certain way and don’t appear partisan — they’re willing to listen to you. I think we need to do more of that kind of engagement.”

Miller says he would love to take the bus tour and judges’ march to other parts of the country, as he hopes to mobilize more judges, lawyers, and civic leaders nationwide to join Democracy Rising Collaborative’s efforts. He says he’s also working on a couple other big ideas for the fall, when midterm elections will dominate headlines. 

“This moment is for taking big swings, and for doing all we can to protect these foundational principles,” he says.