Sarah Merriam confirmed to U.S. district court

By

Kate Carsella

The U.S. Senate on Oct. 6 confirmed one of President Joe Biden’s (D) federal judicial nominees to a lifetime Article III judgeship:

  1. Sarah A.L. Merriam, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, by a vote of 54-46

Merriam was nominated to the District of Connecticut on June 15 to replace JudgeJanet Hall, who assumedsenior status on Jan. 21. Merriam was rated Well Qualified by theAmerican Bar Association. To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

To date, 16 of Biden’s appointees have been confirmed. For historical comparison since 1981, the following list shows the date by which the past six presidents had 16 Article III judicial nominees confirmed by the Senate:

  1. President Donald Trump (R) – Nov. 28, 2017
  2. President Barack Obama (D) – Feb. 9, 2010
  3. President George W. Bush (R) – Nov. 6, 2001
  4. President Bill Clinton (D) – Nov. 20, 1993
  5. President George H.W. Bush (R) – Jan. 23, 1990
  6. President Ronald Reagan (R) – Oct. 21, 1981

As of this writing, 11 Article III nominees are awaiting a confirmation vote from the U.S Senate, five nominees are awaiting a Senate Judiciary Committee vote to advance their nominations to the full Senate, and 19 nominees are awaiting a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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