WASHINGTON–In a hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced Sarah Merriam, President Biden’s nominee to fill a vacancy on the U.S. District Court of Connecticut. Following today’s hearing, Merriam’s nomination is expected to receive a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. If approved, her nomination will then receive a vote by the full Senate.
"I don't know that you're going to see a nominee before this Committee who has, I think, a more important breadth of experience in the legal field than Judge Merriam. She has been an advocate for working people. She has been a very capable lawyer in private practice. As mentioned, she spent the bulk of her career as a federal public defender. And now she has been a very well regarded federal magistrate, someone who comes to this hearing with deep experience in the federal court system. So I think her resume and her testimony will speak for itself,” said Murphy at the hearing. "I come to you today as someone who has known Judge Merriam for 20 years, both professionally and personally. I will tell you candidly that when I began my time in public service, Sarah was someone that modeled just a unique combination of joy and compassion, hardheadedness, common sense, that to me, caused me to choose to pursue a life in the service of the people of Connecticut.”
“I spent a good deal of my career, several decades, as a litigator in the federal courts. And I have a particular allegiance to the values and ethos of the very highest quality that we should be seeking, as well as diversity in our federal judiciary. Judge Merriam fulfills those qualifications and expectations and much, much more,” said Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Judge Merriam really embodies the highest ideals and traditions of our federal district court in Connecticut.”
Murphy’s opening remarks are available here. Video of Blumenthal’s opening remarks is available for download here
Judge Sarah Merriam has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Connecticut since 2015. Prior to that, Judge Merriam served as an Assistant Federal Defender in the District of Connecticut from 2007 through 2015, and worked as a law clerk to Judge Thomas Meskill of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and to Judge Alvin Thompson of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Judge Merriam attended Georgetown University for her undergraduate degree, and began her legal education at the University of Connecticut School of Law before transferring to Yale Law School, from which she received her Juris Doctor in 2000.
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