Mecklenburg County Chief District Judge Regan Miller announced Monday morning in a one-sentence e-mail that he is retiring at the end of March.
This year, Miller has been at the center of a controversy over the county's new bail policy. The county's chief magistrate, who is supervised by Miller, has shifted toward issuing criminal summons instead of requiring them to post bail.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney has criticized the changes, saying there are some defendants who are too dangerous to be given criminal summons.
In aninterview with WFAE last year, Miller defended the shift to issuing summonses.
“It’s a mindset that we have had historically that if you are charged with a crime you should be arrested and put in jail, pending your trial," Miller said. "That’s really not what constitutionally we are supposed to be doing as judicial officials, so we are trying to change that culture.”
Former Chief Magistrate Khalif Rhodes resigned in September. Rhodes was the main driver of bail reform in Mecklenburg.
N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley will appoint a new chief district court judge for Mecklenburg County.
