Mills Bee Lane III (born November 12, 1937) is a retired boxing referee, a former boxer, was a two-term Washoe County District Court Judge and television personality. He is best known for having officiated several major heavyweight championship boxing matches in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and for starring in the syndicated court show Judge Mills Lane. On June 9, 2013, Lane was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Biography

Lane hails from a prominent Georgia family: his grandfather founded the largest bank in Georgia, and his uncle (and namesake) was the president of Citizens & Southern National Bank. Mills, however, had other aspirations, and joined the United States Marine Corps in 1956, after his graduation from Middlesex School. He became a boxer while serving as a Marine, becoming the All-Far East welterweight champ. After leaving the Marine Corps, he enrolled at the University of Nevada, Reno and became the NCAA boxing champion. He turned pro while in college, eventually earning a 10–1 record as a pro. He was in the 1960 Summer Olympics boxing finals held in San Francisco, California. He was defeated by Phil Baldwin in the semifinals.

Lane graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a business degree in 1963, then attended the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, graduating with the class of 1970. In 1979, he became Chief Deputy Sheriff of Investigative Services at the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. He was elected District Attorney in 1982 and District Judge in 1990.