Merrick Garland | |
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Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
Assumed office February 12, 2013 |
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Preceded by | David Sentelle |
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
Assumed office March 20, 1997 |
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Nominated by | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | Abner Mikva |
Personal details | |
Born |
Merrick Brian Garland November 13, 1952 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Spouse(s) | Lynn Rosenman (m. 1987) |
Children | 2 daughters |
Education | Harvard University (BA, JD) |
Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He has served on that court since 1997.
A native of the Chicago area, Garland graduated summa cum laude as valedictorian from Harvard College and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. After serving as a law clerk to Judge Henry J. Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. of the Supreme Court of the United States, he practiced corporate litigation at Arnold & Porter and worked as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice, where he played a leading role in the investigation and prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombers.
On March 16, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Garland to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Antonin Scalia. The Senate refused to hold a hearing or vote on this nomination made during the last year of Obama's presidency, insisting that the newly elected president should fill the vacancy. The refusal of Senate Republicans to consider the nomination remains a source of controversy, with some Democrats saying the seat on the court Garland was nominated to take was stolen. His nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress.