United States District Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam of the District of Connecticut, a 2018 graduate of Duke Law School’s Master of Judicial Studies program, was nominated by President Biden to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on April 27, according to a statement released by the White House.
Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam has served as a U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Connecticut since 2021. Judge Merriam previously served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Connecticut from 2015 to 2021. She served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of Connecticut from 2007 to 2015. Judge Merriam worked on political campaigns in Connecticut from 2006 to 2007. She was an associate at the Connecticut-based law firm Cowdery, Ecker & Murphy from 2003 to 2006. Judge Merriam served as a law clerk for Judge Thomas Meskill on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2002 to 2003 and for Judge Alvin Thompson on the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut from 2000 to 2002. Judge Merriam received her LL.M from Duke Law School in 2018, her J.D. from Yale Law School in 2000, and her B.A. from Georgetown University in 1993.
Judge Merriam has also written for Judicature, a scholarly journal for judges published by the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School.