Sarah A. L. Merriam

Sarah Ann Leilani Merriam (born 1971)[1] is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. She is a former United States magistrate judge of the same court.[2]

Sarah A. L. Merriam
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
Assumed office
October 8, 2021
Nominated byJoe Biden
Preceded byJanet C. Hall
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
In office
April 3, 2015 – October 8, 2021
Preceded byHolly B. Fitzsimmons
Personal details
Born1971 (age 50–51)
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationGeorgetown University (BA)
Yale University (JD)
Duke University (LLM)

Early life and education

Merriam was born in Honolulu and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, where she attended the Hopkins School.[2] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University in 1993, a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 2000, and a Master of Laws in judicial studies from the Duke University School of Law in 2018.[3][4]

Career

Merriam was a law clerk for Judge Thomas Meskill of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She began her career as an associate with Cowdery, Ecker & Murphy in Hartford, Connecticut. From 2007 to 2015, Merriam served as an assistant public defender for the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.[3][5]

Merriam was political director for a state employee union and helped manage the campaigns of two Democratic U.S. Senators, Chris Murphy and Chris Dodd.[6]

United States magistrate judge

In March 2015, Merriam was selected as a magistrate judge of the District of Connecticut.[7] She replaced Judge Holly B. Fitzsimmons, who retired.[8] She was sworn in on April 3, 2015.[7][9] Her service terminated upon her elevation as a district court judge.

District court

On June 15, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Merriam to serve as a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut to the seat vacated by Judge Janet C. Hall, who took senior status on January 21, 2021.[10] On July 14, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[11] On August 5, 2021, her nomination was reported out of committee by a vote 13–9.[12] On October 6, 2021, her nomination was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 54–46 after the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination earlier that day by a vote of 53-47.[13] She received her judicial commission on October 8, 2021.

Nomination to court of appeals

On April 27, 2022, President Joe Biden announced he would nominate Merriam to serve as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.[14] [15]

References
  1. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Sarah Ann Leilani Merriam
  2. "Sarah A. L. Merriam | District of Connecticut | United States District Court". www.ctd.uscourts.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  3. "President Biden Announces 4th Slate of Judicial Nominations". The White House. 2021-06-15. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  4. "Biography – Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam | District of Connecticut | United States District Court". www.ctd.uscourts.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  5. Mahony, Edmund H. "President Biden nominates three lawyers to fill vacant federal judgeships in Connecticut". courant.com. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  6. Mahony, Edmund H. (July 14, 2021). "Sarah Merriam, the first of the state's three U.S. judicial nominees, breezes though an initial Senate hearing". courant.com.
  7. "Sarah A.L. Merriam '00 Selected as a United States Magistrate Judge" (Press release). Yale Law School. March 25, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  8. Rodinone, Nicholas (March 25, 2015). "Federal Defender Named U.S. Magistrate Judge". courant.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  9. "Sarah A.L. Merriam". United States Courts. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  10. "Nominations Sent to the Senate". The White House. June 15, 2021.
  11. "Nominations for July 14, 2021". United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
  12. "Congressional Record: PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 117th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION" (PDF). Washington, D.C. August 5, 2021. p. 40.
  13. "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Sarah A. L. Merriam to be United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut)". United States Senate. October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  14. Raymond, Nate; Raymond, Nate (April 27, 2022). "Exclusive: Biden's latest judicial nominees dominated by public defenders" – via www.reuters.com.
  15. "President Biden Names Seventeenth Round of Judicial Nominees". The White House. April 27, 2022.


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