Natasha Merle

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Natasha Merle
Image of Natasha Merle

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
Tenure

2023 - Present

Years in position

1

Education

Bachelor's

University of Texas at Austin, 2005

Law

New York University Law School, 2008

Personal
Birthplace
Brunswick, Maine
Contact

Personal LinkedIn 

float:right;
border:1px solid #FFB81F;
background-color: white;
width: 250px;
font-size: .9em;
margin-bottom:0px;

} .infobox p { margin-bottom: 0; } .widget-row { display: inline-block; width: 100%; margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 1px; } .widget-row.heading { font-size: 1.2em; } .widget-row.value-only { text-align: center; background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.value-only.white { background-color: #f9f9f9; } .widget-row.value-only.black { background-color: #f9f9f9; color: black; } .widget-row.Democratic { background-color: #003388; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Republican { background-color: red; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Independent, .widget-row.Nonpartisan, .widget-row.Constitution { background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Libertarian { background-color: #f9d334; color: black; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Green { background-color: green; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-key { width: 43%; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; vertical-align: top; font-weight: bold; } .widget-value { width: 57%; float: right; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; word-wrap: break-word; } .widget-img { width: 150px; display: block; margin: auto; } .clearfix { clear: both; }

Natasha Merle is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on January 19, 2022, and confirmed by the United States Senate on June 21, 2023, by a vote of 50-49.[1][2][3][4][5][6]To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Merle's career experience includes working as the deputy director of litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.[2]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (2023-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On January 19, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) initially nominated Merle to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.[2][3] She was confirmed by a 50-49 vote of the U.S. Senate on June 21, 2023. Merle received commission on August 11, 2023.[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Natasha Merle
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
Progress
Confirmed 518 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: January 19, 2022
ApprovedAABA Rating: Majority well qualified/Minority qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: April 27, 2022
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: May 26, 2022 (initial nomination)[7]/ February 9, 2023 (second nomination) 
ApprovedAConfirmed: June 21, 2023
ApprovedAVote: 50-49


Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Merle by a vote of 50-49 vote on June 21, 2023.[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Natasha Merle confirmation vote (June 21, 2023)
Party Yea Nay No vote
Electiondot.png Democratic 47 1 0
Ends.png Republican 0 48 1
Grey.png Independent 3 0 0
Total 50 49 1

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Merle's nomination on April 27, 2022. The committee voted to advance Merle's nomination to the full Senate on May 26, 2022.[3]

In a committee hearing on February 2, 2023, the committee cast a tie vote to report Merle to the full United States Senate for a confirmation vote. As a result, she was not reported favorably to the full Senate.[6] In a committee hearing on February 9, 2023, Merle was reported to the full Senate, after a 11-10 committee vote.[5]

Nomination

On January 19, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Merle to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.[2] He officially nominated her on the same day.[3]

Merle was nominated to fill an additional position created on the court in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 133(b)(1).[3]

The American Bar Association rated Merle well qualified by a majority and qualified by a minority.[8] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Merle's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.[9] The president renominated Merle on the same day.[1]

Biography

Early life and education

Merle was born in Brunswick, Maine, in 1983. She earned a B.A., with honors, in political science and government from the University of Texas, Austin, in 2005 and a J.D., cum laude, from the New York University School of Law in 2008.[10][11]

Professional career

Associations

About the court

Eastern District of New York
Second Circuit
Great seal of the United States.png
Judgeships
Posts: 16
Judges: 16
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Margo Brodie
Active judges: Joan Azrack, Margo Brodie, Gary R. Brown, Pamela Ki Mai Chen, Nusrat Choudhury, LaShann Moutique DeArcy Hall, Ann M. Donnelly, Hector Gonzalez, Diane Gujarati, Eric Komitee, Rachel Kovner, Roslynn Mauskopf, Orelia Merchant, Natasha Merle, Nina Morrison, Ramon Reyes Jr.

Senior judges:
Carol Amon, Frederic Block, Brian Cogan, Raymond Dearie, Nicholas Garaufis, Nina Gershon, Leo Glasser, Denis Hurley, Dora Irizarry, Edward Korman, William Kuntz, Kiyo Matsumoto, Allyne Ross, Joanna Seybert, Eric Vitaliano


The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York is one of 94 United States district courts. The courthouses are located in Brooklyn and Central Islip. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit based in Lower Manhattan at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Federal Courthouse.

Jurisdiction

The Eastern District of New York has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Eastern District of New York consists of all the following counties in the eastern part of the state of New York.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

  • The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
  • The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  • The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.
  • As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
  • After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.
  • If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
  • If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.
  • The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.
  • If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
  • If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Congress.gov, "PN82 — Natasha C. Merle — The Judiciary," accessed January 4, 2023
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The White House, "President Biden Names Thirteenth Round of Judicial Nominees," January 19, 2022
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Congress.gov, "PN1686 — Natasha C. Merle — The Judiciary," accessed January 20, 2022
  4. ↑ The White House, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," January 19, 2022
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Committee on the Judiciary, "Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 9, 2023," accessed February 9, 2023
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Committee on the Judiciary, "Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 2, 2023," accessed February 3, 2023
  7. ↑ In a second committee hearing, Merle received a 10-10 tie committee vote and was not reported favorably to the full Senate. Click here for more details.
  8. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees," accessed April 27, 2022
  9. ↑ Under Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, pending nominations are returned to the president if the Senate adjourns sine die or recesses for more than 30 days.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees," accessed May 19, 2022

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
2023-Present		 Succeeded by
-

New York courts

Federal courts:

Second Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York

State courts:

New York Court of Appeals • New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division • New York Supreme Court • New York County Courts • New York City Courts • New York Town and Village Courts • New York Family Courts • New York Surrogates' Courts • New York City Civil Court • New York City Criminal Courts • New York Court of Claims • New York Problem Solving Courts

State resources:

Courts in New York • New York judicial elections • Judicial selection in New York


Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Natasha_Merle&oldid=9806482"