Merrick B. Garland
Encyclopedia
Merrick Brian Garland is an American
federal judge
on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
. He was widely seen as a leading contender for a nomination to the Supreme Court in the Obama
administration following the announced retirement of Justice
John Paul Stevens
.
and graduated from Niles West High School
in Skokie, Illinois
, in 1970. He was named one of 119 members of the Presidential Scholars Program
by the Commission on Presidential Scholars, and he came with that group to the White House
on June 4, 1970 to listen to a special address in the East Room
of the White House
to the group by President Richard Nixon
. Garland also was named a National Merit Scholar.
Garland graduated first in his class from Harvard College
with an A.B. summa cum laude in Social Studies in 1974 and then graduated from Harvard Law School
with a J.D.
magna cum laude in 1977. During law school, Garland was a member of the Harvard Law Review
and served as articles editor from 1976 to 1977. Following graduation, he clerked for Judge Henry Friendly
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
from 1977 to 1978, and then clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.
from 1978 to 1979.
, where he was a partner from 1985 to 1989 and from 1992 to 1993. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1989 to 1992, and as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1993 to 1994. From 1994 until his appointment as U.S. Circuit Judge, Judge Garland served as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, where his responsibilities included the supervision of the Oklahoma City bombing
and UNABOM prosecutions. One of Garland's mentors, according to a July 6, 1995 Los Angeles Times article, was then-Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick
.
Garland has taught antitrust law at Harvard Law School
and has served as co-chair of the administrative law section of the District of Columbia Bar.
nominated Garland to the D.C. Circuit seat vacated by Abner J. Mikva
.
Garland received a hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on December 1, 1995. However, his nomination languished under the Republican-controlled Senate until after the 1996 election. At the time of his nomination, many Republican senators cited as their reason for objecting to his nomination the fact that they did not believe that the D.C. Circuit needed an additional judge.
After winning the 1996 presidential election, Clinton renominated Garland on January 7, 1997. Garland was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 19, 1997 in a 76-23 vote and received his commission on March 20.
, and that he had personal affection for the justice for whom he clerked, Justice William Brennan
. "Everybody, I think, who hopes to become a judge would aspire to be able to write as well as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
," Garland told the committee at that time. "None are going to be able to attain that. But I'll try at least—if confirmed—to be as brief and pithy as he is."
, Merrick B. Garland and Thomas B. Griffith
, overturned the determination of Hufaiza Parhat's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
on June 20, 2008.
Parhat's was the first case to be ruled on since the Supreme Court's ruling in Boumediene v. Bush
. However, the ruling was made under a section of the Detainee Treatment Act
.
, was a justice of the New York Supreme Court
(a trial-level court of general jurisdiction rather than an appellate court) and a special counsel to Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt
and Harry S. Truman
. He has two daughters. His eldest daughter is a sophomore at Yale
and his younger daughter is a senior at the Sidwell Friends School
in Washington D.C.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
federal judge
Federal judge
Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state / provincial / local level.-Brazil:In Brazil, federal judges of first instance are chosen exclusively by public contest...
on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit known informally as the D.C. Circuit, is the federal appellate court for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Appeals from the D.C. Circuit, as with all the U.S. Courts of Appeals, are heard on a...
. He was widely seen as a leading contender for a nomination to the Supreme Court in the Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
administration following the announced retirement of Justice
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history...
.
Early life, education and legal training
Garland was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Shirley, was a director of volunteer services, and his father, Cyril Garland, headed Garland Advertising in Chicago. Garland grew up in Lincolnwood, IllinoisLincolnwood, Illinois
Lincolnwood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,359 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lincolnwood is located at ....
and graduated from Niles West High School
Niles West High School
Niles West High School, or NWHS, is a public four-year high school located in Skokie, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in the United States. It is part of Niles Township Community High School District 219, which also includes Niles North High School. Its school teams were originally the Indians, but...
in Skokie, Illinois
Skokie, Illinois
Skokie is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Its name comes from a Native American word for "fire". A Chicago suburb, for many years Skokie promoted itself as "The World's Largest Village". Its population, per the 2000 census, was 63,348...
, in 1970. He was named one of 119 members of the Presidential Scholars Program
Presidential Scholars Program
The United States Presidential Scholars Program is the highest possible honor for graduating high school seniors in the United States of America....
by the Commission on Presidential Scholars, and he came with that group to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
on June 4, 1970 to listen to a special address in the East Room
East Room
The East Room is the largest room in the White House, the home of the president of the United States. It is used for entertaining, press conferences, ceremonies, and occasionally for a large dinner...
of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
to the group by President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
. Garland also was named a National Merit Scholar.
Garland graduated first in his class from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
with an A.B. summa cum laude in Social Studies in 1974 and then graduated from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
with a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
magna cum laude in 1977. During law school, Garland was a member of the Harvard Law Review
Harvard Law Review
The Harvard Law Review is a journal of legal scholarship published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School.-Overview:According to the 2008 Journal Citation Reports, the Review is the most cited law review and has the second-highest impact factor in the category "law" after the...
and served as articles editor from 1976 to 1977. Following graduation, he clerked for Judge Henry Friendly
Henry Friendly
Henry Jacob Friendly was a prominent judge in the United States, who sat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1959 through 1974 and in senior status until his death by suicide in 1986.- Before the bench :Judge Friendly graduated from...
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
from 1977 to 1978, and then clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.
William J. Brennan, Jr.
William Joseph Brennan, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1956 to 1990...
from 1978 to 1979.
Professional career
Garland was Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States from 1979 to 1981. He then joined the law firm of Arnold & PorterArnold & Porter
Arnold & Porter LLP is a nine-office international law firm based in Washington, D.C. Arnold & Porter is well known for its trial, corporate, and antitrust work, and for its pro bono commitments and support for liberal causes.-History:...
, where he was a partner from 1985 to 1989 and from 1992 to 1993. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1989 to 1992, and as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1993 to 1994. From 1994 until his appointment as U.S. Circuit Judge, Judge Garland served as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, where his responsibilities included the supervision of the Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
and UNABOM prosecutions. One of Garland's mentors, according to a July 6, 1995 Los Angeles Times article, was then-Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick
Jamie Gorelick
Jamie S. Gorelick is an American attorney, presently representing BP. She was Deputy Attorney General of the United States during the Clinton administration...
.
Garland has taught antitrust law at Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
and has served as co-chair of the administrative law section of the District of Columbia Bar.
Federal judicial service
On September 6, 1995, President Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
nominated Garland to the D.C. Circuit seat vacated by Abner J. Mikva
Abner J. Mikva
Abner Joseph Mikva is a Democratic former U.S. Representative, federal judge and law professor from Chicago.-Biography:Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mikva attended the University of Chicago Law School, from which he graduated in 1951...
.
Garland received a hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on December 1, 1995. However, his nomination languished under the Republican-controlled Senate until after the 1996 election. At the time of his nomination, many Republican senators cited as their reason for objecting to his nomination the fact that they did not believe that the D.C. Circuit needed an additional judge.
After winning the 1996 presidential election, Clinton renominated Garland on January 7, 1997. Garland was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 19, 1997 in a 76-23 vote and received his commission on March 20.
Judicial philosophy
Considered a judicial moderate, Garland told senators during his U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in 1995 that the U.S. Supreme Court justice for whom he had the greatest admiration was Chief Justice John MarshallJohn Marshall
John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the United States whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches...
, and that he had personal affection for the justice for whom he clerked, Justice William Brennan
William J. Brennan, Jr.
William Joseph Brennan, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1956 to 1990...
. "Everybody, I think, who hopes to become a judge would aspire to be able to write as well as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932...
," Garland told the committee at that time. "None are going to be able to attain that. But I'll try at least—if confirmed—to be as brief and pithy as he is."
Hufaiza Parhat v. Gates
On June 23, 2008 it was announced that a three judge panel of the Federal court of appeal, made up of David B. SentelleDavid B. Sentelle
Judge David Bryan Sentelle is the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.- Early life and education :...
, Merrick B. Garland and Thomas B. Griffith
Thomas B. Griffith
Thomas Beall Griffith is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Before his appointment to the bench he was Senate Legal Counsel, the chief legal officer of the United States Senate...
, overturned the determination of Hufaiza Parhat's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense...
on June 20, 2008.
Parhat's was the first case to be ruled on since the Supreme Court's ruling in Boumediene v. Bush
Boumediene v. Bush
Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. 723 , was a writ of habeas corpus submission made in a civilian court of the United States on behalf of Lakhdar Boumediene, a naturalized citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, held in military detention by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba...
. However, the ruling was made under a section of the Detainee Treatment Act
Detainee Treatment Act
The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 is an Act of the United States Congress that prohibits inhumane treatment of prisoners, including prisoners at Guantanamo Bay; requires military interrogations to be performed according to the U.S...
.
Personal
Garland and his wife, Lynn, have been married since 1987. Lynn Garland's grandfather, Samuel Irving RosenmanSamuel Irving Rosenman
Samuel Irving Rosenman was a U.S. lawyer, judge, Democratic political figure, and presidential speechwriter.-Personal life and political career:...
, was a justice of the New York Supreme Court
New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in thestate court system of New York, United States. There is a supreme court in each of New York State's 62 counties, although some smaller counties share judges with neighboring counties...
(a trial-level court of general jurisdiction rather than an appellate court) and a special counsel to Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
. He has two daughters. His eldest daughter is a sophomore at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
and his younger daughter is a senior at the Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker private school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through secondary school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas Sidwell, its motto is "Eluceat omnibus lux" , alluding to the Quaker concept of inner light...
in Washington D.C.
See also
- List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Barack Obama Supreme Court candidatesBarack Obama Supreme Court candidatesPresident Barack Obama has made two successful appointments to the Supreme Court of the United States. The first was that of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Associate Justice David H. Souter. Sotomayor was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 6,...