Natasha Merle | |
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| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New York | |
| Assumed office August 11, 2023 | |
| Appointed by | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Natasha Clarise Merle[1] 1983 (age 41–42) Brunswick, Maine, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | University of Texas, Austin (BA) New York University (JD) |
Natasha Clarise Merle (born 1983)[1] is an American lawyer fromNew York who serves as aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Merle received herBachelor of Arts in government andSpanish, with honors, from theUniversity of Texas at Austin in 2005 and she graduated,cum laude, with aJuris Doctor from theNew York University School of Law in 2008.[2][3]
Merle began her legal career as alaw clerk for JudgeRobert L. Carter of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 2008 to 2009. From 2009 to 2011, she was a staff attorney at the Gulf Region Advocacy Center.[4] Merle then became anassistant federal public defender at theOffice of the Federal Public Defender.[4][5] She also served as alaw clerk for JudgeJohn Gleeson of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New York from 2012 to 2013.
From 2013 to 2015, Merle was a litigation associate and civil rightsfellow atFried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson inNew York City.
From 2016 to 2021, she served as assistant counsel and then senior counsel for theNAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund ("LDF"). From 2021 to 2023, she was the deputy director of litigation at LDF.[2]
From 2019 to 2021, Merle was aadjunct professor of clinical law at theNew York University School of Law and from 2020 to 2021, she was alecturer in law atColumbia Law School.[1][6]
In 2017, Merle was a member of the petitioner team inBuck v. Davis.[3][7][8][9]
In 2017, Merle was lead counsel forNAACP LDF v. Trump.[10][11][12]
On January 19, 2022, PresidentJoe Biden nominated Merle to serve as aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. President Biden nominated Merle to a new seat created following the appointment ofRoslynn R. Mauskopf as director of theAdministrative Office of the United States Courts.[13] On April 27, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[14] During Merle's confirmation hearing, Republican senators criticized her over comments she made in 2017 in which she said that proposals forvoter ID laws and aborder wall were based inwhite supremacy.[15][16][17] On May 26, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[18] On January 3, 2023, her nomination was returned to the President underRule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of theUnited States Senate; she was renominated later the same day.[19] On February 2, 2023, the committee failed to report her nomination by a 10–10 vote.[20] On February 9, 2023, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 vote.[21] On June 21, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 51–50 vote, with Vice PresidentKamala Harrisvoting in the affirmative.[22] Later that day, her nomination was confirmed by a 50–49 vote.[23] SenatorJoe Manchin joined all the Senate Republicans in opposing her nomination.[16] Merle was PresidentBiden's 100th district court judge to be confirmed.[24][25][26] She received her judicial commission on August 11, 2023.[6]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.| Legal offices | ||
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| New seat | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New York 2023–present | Incumbent |