Sarah Ann Leilani Merriam (born 1971) is an American attorney serving as a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate j ...

. She is a former

United States magistrate judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and condu ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Connecticut The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appea ...

and former district judge of the same court.

Early life and education

Merriam was born in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

, and raised in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, where she attended the

Hopkins School Hopkins School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational, day school for grades 7–12 located in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1660, Edward Hopkins, seven-time governor of the Connecticut Colony, bequeathed a portion of his estate to found s ...

. She earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1993, a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...

in 2000, and a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

in judicial studies from the

Duke University School of Law Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit ...

in 2018.

Career

Merriam clerked for Judge

Alvin W. Thompson Alvin W. Thompson (born 1953) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Education and career Born in 1953 in Baltimore, Maryland, Thompson received a Bachelor of Arts from ...

of the

from 2000 to 2002 and Judge

Thomas Meskill Thomas Joseph Meskill Jr. (January 30, 1928 – October 29, 2007) was a longtime United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He previously served as the 82nd governor of Connecticut, as a United St ...

of the

from 2002 to 2003. 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

. Merriam was political director for a state employee union and helped manage the campaigns of two Democratic U.S. Senators,

Chris Murphy Christopher Scott Murphy (born August 3, 1973) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Connecticut since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States ...

and

Chris Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history. ...

United States magistrate judge

In March 2015, Merriam was selected as a magistrate judge of the

District of Connecticut The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeals ...

. She replaced Judge Holly B. Fitzsimmons, who retired. She was sworn in on April 3, 2015. Her service terminated on October 8, 2021, when she was elevated to a district court judge.

District court service

On June 15, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Merriam to serve as a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

for the

to the seat vacated by Judge

Janet C. Hall Janet C. Hall (born September 15, 1948) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. She sits in New Haven. Education and career Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Hall received ...

, who assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on January 21, 2021. On July 14, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nomination ...

. On August 5, 2021, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 13–9 vote. On October 4, 2021, Majority Leader

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...

filed

cloture Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ...

on her nomination. On October 6, 2021, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

invoked cloture on her nomination by a 53–47 vote. Her nomination was confirmed later that day by a 54–46 vote. She received her judicial commission on October 8, 2021. She was sworn in on October 12, 2021. Her service as a district judge was terminated on September 28, 2022, when she was elevated to the court of appeals.

Court of appeals service

On April 27, 2022, President Joe Biden announced he would nominate Merriam to serve as a

for the

Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juris ...

. On May 19, 2022, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Merriam to the seat to be vacated by Judge

Susan L. Carney Susan Laura Carney (born September 16, 1951) is an American lawyer who serves as a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Early life and education Born in Waltham, Massachusetts, Carn ...

, who announced her intent to assume

upon confirmation of a successor. On May 25, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the

. On June 16, 2022, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 12–10 vote. On September 12, 2022, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on her nomination. On September 14, 2022, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–47 vote. On September 15, 2022, her nomination was confirmed by a 53–44 vote. She received her judicial commission on September 23, 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merriam, Sarah A. L. 1971 births Living people 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges Connecticut lawyers Duke University School of Law alumni Georgetown University alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut Lawyers from Honolulu Public defenders Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Joe Biden United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden United States magistrate judges Yale Law School alumni