Merrick Brian Garland is an American lawyer and jurist who served as the 86th Attorney General of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. Born on November 13, 1952, in Chicago, Illinois, to a Jewish family of Eastern European descent, Garland grew up in the suburb of Lincolnwood. His father, Cyril Garland, ran a small advertising business, and his mother, Shirley, directed volunteer services for a Jewish elderly council. Raised in Conservative Judaism, Garland excelled academically, graduating as valedictorian from Niles West High School in 1970, where he was student council president, debate team member, and actor in school productions. He was a Presidential Scholar and National Merit Scholar. Initially aspiring to medicine, he pursued law, earning a bachelor's degree summa cum laude in social studies from Harvard College in 1974 and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1977.

Garland's career began with prestigious clerkships: first for Judge Henry Friendly on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, then for Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. He alternated between public service and private practice, working as an associate and partner at Arnold & Porter from 1981-1989 and 1992-1993. In government roles, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia (1989-1992), Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division (1993-1994), and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General (1994-1997). Notably, he supervised the investigation and prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, including Timothy McVeigh's case, and earlier handled the Unabomber investigation. In 1997, President Bill Clinton nominated him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where he served until 2021, including as Chief Judge from 2013 to 2020.

In March 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia's death, praising his moderate jurisprudence and experience. However, the Republican-controlled Senate, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, refused to hold confirmation hearings, citing the upcoming presidential election—a decision that became a major political controversy. After leaving the bench in 2021 to become Attorney General, Garland oversaw high-profile investigations, including those related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, and faced criticism from both sides for his approach to politically sensitive cases. Post-AG, he returned to Arnold & Porter.