Merrick Garland

Bio:
Merrick Garland (born Merrick Brian Garland in Chicago, Illinois on November 13, 1962) is the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, who was nominated by President Barack Obama for a seat in the Supreme Court. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard, then completed law school at his alma mater. After completing school, he clerked for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. From 1979-1981, Merrick was Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the U.S. and then he became a partner at Arnold & Palmer law firm. Bill Clinton nominated Garland for a D.C. circuit seat in 1995 and 1997, and he was finally confirmed on March 20, 1997. Merrick then became Chief Judge on Feb. 12, 2013, and was nominated by Obama to take Anton Scalia’s seat in the Supreme Court after the justice’s death.

Best Known For:
Merrick is best known as being President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court after Justin Anton Scalia’s death.

Personal Life:
Merrick married his wife Lynn in 1987 and they have two daughters together. Lynn’s family also has a connection to the justice system, as her grandfather was a justice of the New York Supreme Court and special counsel to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman.