Meet President Obama's Supreme Court Nominee: The Honorable Merrick B. Garland

As Chief Judge of the most important federal appeals court in the nation, no one is more qualified to immediately serve on the Supreme Court than Merrick Garland.

A meticulous jurist with a record of forging consensus among judges across the ideological spectrum, he was confirmed to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. in 1997 with majority support from both parties in the U.S. Senate. Today, as Chief Judge of the D.C. Circuit, Judge Garland has more federal judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in history.

Here’s an overview of Chief Judge Garland’s record and credentials:

·         Oversaw some of the most important federal criminal cases in recent history, including the prosecutions of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols for the Oklahoma City bombing as well as the government’s responses to the Unabomber and the Montana Freemen

·         Took steps as a government attorney to ensure proper respect for the rights of criminal defendants, helping develop policies that require prosecutors to conduct an individual assessment of each case when making charging decisions, rather than just charging with the most serious offense possible

·         Was confirmed to the D.C. Circuit in 1997 in a strong bipartisan vote of 76-23

·         Distinguished himself as a jurist who decides every case based on what the law requires

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