Sarah Ann Leilani Merriam
How Judge Merriam rules, drawn from 19 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Merriam left this court for the U.S. Supreme Court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Merriam
Sarah Ann Leilani Merriam was a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Merriam received a commission on October 8, 2021. Judge Merriam left the court on September 28, 2022 on appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
How Judge Merriam decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Marsteller v. Butterfield 8 Stamford, she allowed targeted discovery of relevant social-media material but rejected a demand for the plaintiff's account passwords as disproportionate and intrusive.
“Requiring plaintiff to provide her social media passwords to defendants would constitute a wholesale invasion of her privacy, and would be far outside the bounds of proportionality.”
Cautions
She declined to revisit a discovery position that the court had already rejected.
“The Court has already rejected this argument and will not permit Savalle to relitigate this issue yet again.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“for Partial Dismissal with Prejudice [Doc. #33] is GRANTED.”
“#50] is GRANTED, in part, and DENIED, in part.”
“defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. #59] is GRANTED, in part, and DENIED, in part.”
“the Court DENIES Savalle’s motion for protective order [Doc. #100].”
“plaintiff’s motion for permission to reopen and refile complaint [Doc. #95] is DENIED;”
“plaintiff’s motion for sanctions [Doc. #96] is DENIED, as moot;”
“defendants’ motion for reconsideration [Doc. #104] is GRANTED, but on reconsideration the Court adheres to its prior order.”
“Attorney’s Fees Under 42 U.S.C. §406(b) [Doc. #25] is GRANTED.”
“Motion for Attorney’s Fees Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §406(b)(1) [Doc. #31] is GRANTED.”
“Rosario’s Motion for Severance [Doc. #93] is DENIED.”
“plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel is GRANTED, in part, and DENIED, in part, as set forth herein.”
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| Motions pending more than six months | 0 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 6 | 12 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 9 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 0 |
A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.
A historical record
Judge Merriam left this court for the U.S. Supreme Court. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.