Obama Nominates Merrick Garland to U.S. Supreme Court

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Merrick B. Garland, of Maryland, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, following the death of Antonin Scalia.

In a Rose Garden ceremony today at the White House, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court of the United States. Merrick Garland, the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, has more federal judicial experience than any other Supreme Court nominee in history. No one is better suited to immediately serve on the Supreme Court.

Throughout his career, Chief Judge Garland has shown a rare ability to bring people together and has earned the respect of everyone he has worked with. Chief Justice John Roberts, Garland’s colleague on the D.C. Circuit, once said that “anytime Judge Garland disagrees, you know you’re in a difficult area.” In 2010, as the Senate was beginning the process of confirming a successor to Justice John Paul Stevens, Senator Orrin Hatch said he saw Chief Judge Garland as “a consensus nominee” for the Supreme Court, adding “I have no doubts that Garland would get a lot of [Senate] votes.  And I will do my best to help him get them.”

Chief Judge Garland was confirmed to the D.C. Circuit 76-23, with majority support from both Republicans and Democrats. He has served for 19 years on that court – often considered the most important appellate court in the nation. For over 3 years, he has been the Chief Judge of the D.C. Circuit, continuing to distinguish himself as one of the most impressive judges in the country. He has cultivated a reputation as a brilliant, meticulous judge with a knack for building consensus, playing it straight, and deciding every case based on what the law requires. As he has said, “The role of the court is to apply the law to the facts of the case before it—not to legislate, not to arrogate to itself the executive power, not to hand down advisory opinions on the issues of the day.”

Chief Judge Garland was born and raised in Illinois, by a mother who served as a community volunteer and a father who ran a small business out of the family home. His grandparents immigrated to the United States to escape persecution and find a better life.  He won scholarships to attend Harvard University – where he graduated summa cum laude – and Harvard Law School, paying his way by taking a summer job as a shoe store stock clerk, selling his comic book collection and counseling undergraduates.

 Chief Judge Garland began his career as a clerk for legendary Second Circuit Judge Henry Friendly and then Supreme Court Justice William Brennan. In just four years, Chief Judge Garland became a partner at a prominent law firm, with a practice focused on litigation and pro bono representation of disadvantaged Americans.

Throughout his career, Chief Judge Garland has demonstrated a commitment to putting his country first. In 1989, shortly after becoming a partner in private practice, Chief Judge Garland accepted a significant pay cut to became a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. under the Administration of President George H.W. Bush, where he investigated and prosecuted cases involving public corruption, drug trafficking and fraud. U.S. Attorney Jay Stephens, a Republican appointee, later described Garland’s service to that office as marked “by dedication, sound judgment, excellent legal ability, a balanced temperament, and the highest ethical and professional standards.”

He later was selected as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice, and then as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General. In these roles, he oversaw some of the most important federal criminal cases brought by the Department.

Chief Judge Garland’s work on the Oklahoma City bombing case was particularly notable and inspiring. In the wake of the bombing, he traveled to Oklahoma to oversee the case, and in the ensuing months coordinated every aspect of the government’s response – working with federal agents, rescue workers, local officials, and others to bring the perpetrators to justice. He also kept in close touch with victims and their families throughout the case, and for several years afterwards as well. Later, former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, a Republican, wrote that, during his work on the Oklahoma City bombing case, Chief Judge Garland “distinguished himself in a situation where he had to lead a highly complicated investigation and make quick decisions during critical times.”

Chief Judge Garland has also devoted himself to being a mentor and teacher.  He remains close with his law clerks throughout their careers, encouraging them to pursue public service and advising them on how best to do so. In addition, for almost twenty years, he has tutored second, third, and fourth grade students in Northeast DC in reading and math. Chief Judge Garland and his wife of nearly thirty years, Lynn, have two daughters, Becky and Jessie. The family enjoys skiing, hiking and canoeing, and together they have visited many of America’s national parks.