Judge from Calif. tree-sitter case dies

GLENVIEW, Calif., Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Police said Barbara J. Miller, the Alameda County Superior Court judge who heard a 2008 tree-sitter case, died in Glenview, Calif., at the age of 58.

The Oakland (Calif.) Tribune said Saturday that Miller presided over a 2008 case against University of California, Berkeley regarding a grove of oak trees that protesters populated in an attempt to stop the removal of the trees from the campus.

The university planned on removing the trees to make way for a new athletic training facility and the school was sued by the city of Berkeley and other groups in a bid to stop the construction project.

In June 2008, Miller ruled in the university's favor in the case.

"She was a role model for women, very down to earth and just a wonderful, kind, humble person," Gloria Halman, a retired sergeant for the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, said of Miller.

Police told the Tribune it appeared Miller, whose body was found at her home Friday night, died of natural causes. An autopsy will be conducted on the body of Miller, who leaves no reported survivors.