President Obama Nominates Merrick Garland To Supreme Court

President Obama says he is nominating U.S. Circuit Court Judge Merrick B. Garland for the Supreme Court seat once occupied by the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Garland currently serves as the chief judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, a post he took over in 2013. He has served on the D.C. appellate court since 1997, when he was nominated to the bench by former President Bill Clinton. 

This is not the first time Garland has been considered for a Supreme Court seat. Following the 2010 retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens from the Supreme Court, Garland's name was also floated for the nomination. The seat was eventually filled by Associate Justice Elena Kagan, who was the Solicitor General.

Garland, 63, is a native of Chicago. Before his career as a judge, he held several positions in the public and private sectors.

Most recently, Garland worked as a prosecutor in the Department of Justice's criminal division. While at the DOJ, he served as principal associate deputy attorney general, where he supervised investigations into the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.

Garland spent a lot of time in Oklahoma City as he managed the prosecution of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols and represented the government at their preliminary hearings. 

From 1985 to 1989, and then again from 1992 to 1993, Garland served as a partner in the law firm of Arnold and Porter in Washington, D.C.

Garland served as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice William Brennan in 1978 and 1979.