Blumenthal & Murphy Applaud Senate Confirmation of Judge Sarah Merriam to Second Circuit Court of Appeals

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) applauded the Senate’s confirmation of Judge Sarah Merriam to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Merriam’s nomination was approved in a bipartisan 53-44 vote. 

“Judge Merriam’s commitment to justice and vast legal experience will greatly benefit the Second Circuit,” said Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “A widely respected jurist, her bipartisan confirmation is a ringing endorsement of her long history of public service. Our judicial system will be stronger because of her work. I’m proud to have championed her nomination and look forward to Judge Merriam’s continued service on the federal bench.”  

“As one of Connecticut’s brightest legal minds and a longtime good friend, it is an honor to vote today to confirm Sarah Merriam’s nomination. Sarah is a committed public servant who has spent most of her career working as a federal public defender. I know she will be a passionate voice for fairness and justice on the Second Circuit,” said Murphy.

Consisting of thirteen judges, the Second Circuit is one of thirteen appeals courts across the country and exercises appellate jurisdiction within Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. Merriam was nominated for the position by President Biden in April.  

In October, Judge Sarah Merriam was confirmed in a bipartisan vote to serve as a United States District Court Judge for the District of Connecticut. Prior to that, Judge Merriam served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Connecticut, 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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