Judge Sarah Merriam is a U.S. Circuit Judge on the Second Circuit, confirmed in September 2022, whose tenure has been marked both by participation in high-profile appeals and by two formal misconduct complaints alleging she mistreated her law clerks. Both complaints were closed after she agreed to remedial measures; no finding of formal misconduct was imposed.
Who She Is
Sarah Ann Leilani Merriam was born in 1971 in Honolulu and grew up in New Haven, Connecticut. She earned a bachelor’s degree cum laude from Georgetown in 1993, began law school at the University of Connecticut, transferred to Yale, and received her J.D. in 2000.1U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam Biography She later earned an LL.M. in judicial studies from Duke in 2018.2Federal Judicial Center. Merriam, Sarah Ann Leilani
Before law, she spent over a decade in Connecticut Democratic politics, most prominently managing Chris Murphy’s 2006 congressional campaign. She left politics in 2007 and spent eight years as an assistant federal defender in the District of Connecticut, representing indigent defendants through trial and appeal.1U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam Biography
Her judicial career moved quickly. She became a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Connecticut in April 2015. President Biden nominated her to the district court in June 2021, and the Senate confirmed her that October by a 54–46 vote. She served less than a year on the district bench before Biden nominated her to the Second Circuit on May 19, 2022. The Senate confirmed her 53–44 on September 15, 2022, with three Republicans joining Democrats, and she was sworn in on September 28.2Federal Judicial Center. Merriam, Sarah Ann Leilani3CT Mirror. CT Judge Sarah Merriam Confirmed to 2nd Circuit Court
The First Misconduct Complaint, 2022
Within weeks of Merriam joining the Second Circuit, a law clerk identified by legal commentator David Lat as “Isaac” filed a formal complaint under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act. Isaac had started clerking for her in July 2022, requested an Employment Dispute Resolution plan in September, and was transferred to a different judge in October before filing.4David Lat, Substack. Judge Sarah Merriam: Overly Harsh Management
Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston ordered an investigation by the Circuit Executive and the Circuit Director of Workplace Relations. Investigators found that the concerns “were shared by other law clerks who, while recounting that they had learned a lot from the Judge, agreed that the Judge’s management style could be overly harsh.” Livingston’s December 2022 order dismissed the complaint after finding that Merriam had taken “appropriate voluntary corrective action,” including counseling on workplace conduct, training videos, and periodic check-ins by the Circuit Director of Workplace Relations with each new term of clerks.4David Lat, Substack. Judge Sarah Merriam: Overly Harsh Management
Accounts in Lat’s reporting ran in both directions. Two former clerks praised her mentorship and denied witnessing abusive behavior. A later update added a source who said they had heard the judge screaming at clerks loudly enough to carry into adjacent chambers.4David Lat, Substack. Judge Sarah Merriam: Overly Harsh Management
The Second Complaint, 2025–2026
On December 18, 2025, the Legal Accountability Project filed a second complaint against Merriam under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act. The LAP is a nonprofit founded in 2022 by Aliza Shatzman, a former law clerk who experienced workplace mistreatment in a different court.5NPR. Judge Complaint, Clerk, Legal Accountability
The complaint alleged Merriam had created a “hostile and toxic work environment” by routinely bullying, belittling, and dehumanizing her clerks. Shatzman said the allegations drew on conversations with multiple former clerks from 2024 and 2025 who feared retaliation if they came forward individually. The LAP reported that one clerk resigned in 2025 after a month on the job, and at least four others withdrew from accepted clerkship offers after learning about conditions through what Shatzman called a “whisper network.” The complaint asked that Merriam’s then-current clerks be immediately reassigned pending investigation.6NPR. In a Rare Formal Complaint, a Federal Judge Is Accused of Bullying Law Clerks7Above the Law. Second Circuit Judge Accused of Bullying Her Law Clerks Again
Merriam did not respond to media requests for comment. The Second Circuit and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts also declined to comment while the matter was pending.6NPR. In a Rare Formal Complaint, a Federal Judge Is Accused of Bullying Law Clerks
On June 12, 2026, Chief Judge Livingston released an order closing the complaint. She reported that Merriam’s 2024 and 2025 law clerks, whom she interviewed, described the chambers environment as “tense and challenging.” The order also noted that the clerks involved had resolved management issues with Merriam before the LAP filed its complaint, and it cited other clerks who were “surprised and upset by the complaint and by the resulting publicity.”8David Lat, Substack. Judges Eleanor Ross, Sarah Merriam Misconduct9New York Law Journal. Second Complaint Against US Circuit Judge Closed After Renewed Vow to Improve Workplace Culture
As part of the resolution, Merriam agreed to periodic meetings with advisor judges on chambers management practices, management training approved by the Chief Judge, and attendance at the judiciary’s annual workplace training alongside each new group of clerks she appoints. Shatzman told Reuters she was disappointed in the outcome and said the “lack of accountability for federal judges who abuse their power is ultimately a congressional problem.”8David Lat, Substack. Judges Eleanor Ross, Sarah Merriam Misconduct
Why Clerks Have Limited Recourse
Federal courts are exempt from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, so law clerks generally cannot sue over workplace mistreatment and must rely on the judiciary’s internal complaint process under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act. Federal judges hold life tenure and can only be removed through impeachment.6NPR. In a Rare Formal Complaint, a Federal Judge Is Accused of Bullying Law Clerks
The LAP operates a “Glassdoor for Judges” database where clerks can report their experiences and has pushed for mandatory reporting by law schools and centralized data collection on judicial misconduct.10Legal Accountability Project. Legal Accountability Project11Harvard Journal on Legislation. The Conservative Case for the Judiciary Accountability Act12Bloomberg Law. Second Circuit Judge Agrees to More Measures on Clerk Treatment
Notable Cases
In February 2025, Merriam sat on a three-judge panel that affirmed a lower court’s application of the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege. The underlying grand jury investigation concerned a former corporate CEO accused of concealing multimillion-dollar settlement payments related to sexual misconduct allegations from his company’s internal accounting controls. The panel, with Judges Lynch and Robinson, upheld the order compelling production of documents the CEO’s lawyers had sought to withhold.13Justia. Carroll v. Trump, No. 23-793
In June 2025, Merriam joined a concurrence by Judge Myrna Pérez when the Second Circuit denied rehearing en banc in Carroll v. Trump, the civil case in which a jury had found Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The concurrence, also joined by Judges Eunice Lee and Beth Robinson, supported the earlier unanimous panel decision. Judges Menashi and Park dissented, arguing that the panel had improperly admitted propensity evidence and excluded evidence relevant to the “actual malice” standard.13Justia. Carroll v. Trump, No. 23-793