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He came to the Twin Cities from a small New Mexico community in 1972 to study law at the University of Minnesota.
He graduated three years later, got a prestigious corporate law position with 3M, then took a 15-month leave of absence to represent Hispanic residents as an attorney on St. Paul's West Side.
In 1983, after returning to 3M, he became Minnesota's first Hispanic judge when he landed a job on the Ramsey County bench.
At 32, Alberto Miera Jr. was on a fast track to success.
Three years later, the reputation and career he established so quickly are in danger of crumbling just as fast.
Thursday, in a move that surprised many in St. Paul's legal community, Miera's former court reporter filed a sexual harassment suit against the 35-year-old district court judge, contending that Miera tried for more than two years to have sex with the man. If the allegations, spelled out in lengthy detail in a nine-page civil suit, can be substantiated, the state's Board on Judicial Standards could reprimand Miera or ask the state Supreme Court to remove him from the bench.
Miera has refused to talk about the lawsuit after describing the allegations as "outrageous and completely false" during a short press conference last week. The plaintiff, Neil Johnson, 30, and his attorneys also have refused to discuss the case. Johnson filed the suit after Miera told him last month that he would be fired if he didn't find another job by December.
Miera's friends and coworkers say they've been shocked, hurt and angered by the news. Most say they believe the allegations to be untrue, although few can explain why the suit was filed.
"I always thought Alberto to be a very compassionate person," said Hennepin County District Judge Kevin Burke, a law school classmate of Miera's and a close friend. "As far as I...