Beach lawyer a strong advocate for mentally ill

VIRGINIA BEACH

Before he picked up a metal pipe and beat his roommate to death two years ago, Steven Jackson was convinced Johannes McClellan was trying to kill him.

In fact, he told a doctor after his arrest, police had been sending "almost constant messages" to him through a television, warning that McClellan wanted him dead.

Jackson, who had a history of mental illness, was found not guilty by reason of insanity last year and sent to Central State Hospital in Petersburg for treatment. His case was one of many recently handled by Annette Miller, an attorney in the city's public defender's office who handles - or assists in - the bulk of cases in the city involving defendants with mental health issues.

Miller, 48, has worked in the office since 1995, after graduating from University of Richmond law school and spending four years as a personal injury and workers' compensation attorney.

Within a few years of her being hired at the public defender's office in 1995, supervisors began assigning Miller to cases involving mentally ill defendants. She started researching mental health law, compiling resources and books now crammed onto shelves in her office.

"It's not something I chose for myself, but I ended up with a niche practice," she said.

In the past five years, she figures, she has handled more than 200 criminal cases involving seriously mentally ill defendants. She has been jokingly referred to as the courthouse's "resident expert" in mental health law by a circuit judge, delivered speeches at regional law conferences and was recognized in 2000 with a city Human Rights Award for her work on manuals for representing mentally ill defendants and for families of those who are mentally ill and in jail.

She has declined to pursue a more lucrative career in private practice because, she said, many of the clients whom she represents are indigent or unable to afford private attorneys' fees.

Donna Moore, director of psychology at Central State Hospital, said Miller is regarded as one of the area's strongest advocates for the mentally ill.

"She really knows all her clients," Moore said. "She takes a personal interest in making sure they succeed in the community."

Sometimes that success hinges on securing doctors' evaluations and recommendations for a regimen of medication and supervised probation. In extreme cases, Miller's clients can end up receiving months - or years - of residential treatment at institutions such as Central State or Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg.

"The whole aim of all this is to get them back into the community," she said. "You want them to function well so they have a good life."

Tabitha Anderson, who prosecuted Steven Jackson, said Miller works hard to get mentally ill defendants "the rehabilitation they need so the commonwealth's attorney's office doesn't have to prosecute them again."

Miller also has a good handle on determining when someone is "malingering," or faking illness, Anderson said.

"She won't stand for it," Anderson said. "If Annette tells me, based on her experience, this person really was insane at the time, it's enough to make me take it seriously."

Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com