A view of the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse in Manhattan, N.Y., where the Second Circuit Court of Appeals is seated, from 2020.
Mark Lennihan/AP
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Mark Lennihan/AP
A complaint has been filed against a federal appeals court judge by a nonprofit group that advocates for law clerks, alleging mistreatment and bullying of clerks, as well as a broken process for handling such claims.
The complaint against Judge Sarah Merriam of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is based on conversations with former law clerks who fear retaliation if they speak out.
According to Aliza Shatzman, president and founder of the Legal Accountability Project, “She is a bully, in all the ways one might bully their employees: yelling, berating clerks, sending all-caps unhinged emails.”
The Legal Accountability Project filed the complaint earlier this month, marking the second publicly known complaint about Judge Merriam in four years. Complaints of this nature are typically handled internally by the courts.
NPR’s investigation found a culture of fear around reporting judges and concluded that the current internal system within the courts often fails to bring about significant change.
An internal investigation in December 2023 into an unnamed judge on the Second Circuit found evidence of an “overly harsh” management style. A report in 2024 alleged that the judge in question was Merriam, with findings similar to the recent complaint against her.
Multiple clerks have come forward with allegations of mistreatment by Merriam, prompting concerns about the work environment in her chambers.
Efforts to reach officials at the Second Circuit and Judge Merriam for comment have been unsuccessful. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts declined to provide a statement on the matter.
Merriam, a former federal public defender, has faced criticism regarding the power dynamics between federal judges and their clerks, highlighting the lack of job protections for court employees.
While previous complaints led to agreements for improved workplace relations, the recent complaint indicates ongoing concerns among clerks on the Second Circuit.
The filing of the complaint may trigger interviews with former clerks and an investigation into the allegations against Judge Merriam.
