Gould Quotable: Prof. Sam Erman Discusses Supreme Court Nominee

Prof. Sam Erman clerked for U.S. Supreme court nominee Merrick Garland in 2009 and 2010.

USC law professor and constitutional law expert Sam Erman clerked for President Obama's U.S. Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland in 2009 and 2010 at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was interviewed by several local and national media outlets about his time clerking for Garland.

NPR Morning Edition

Host Renee Montagne interviewed Erman about his reaction to Judge Garland's nomination. "What's remarkable about when people note that I clerked for Judge Garland is the uniformity of the response, which is everybody always says he's a really good judge," Erman said. "We need more like him."

CNN

Erman was quoted about Judge Garland's reputation in the legal community. "I've never met anyone with more integrity who was a straighter shooter than he was," he said. "He is very smart, careful and fair."

National Law Journal

Erman praised Judge Garland's personal integrity as a judge. He said he had his first son while clerking for Garland and was initially nervous to tell the judge. "Chambers is a very small group—four clerks and a secretary and the judge—so having one of the clerks suddenly have a kid and need time off in the middle can be disruptive," Erman said, but Garland "made it clear this was only good news." Erman said Garland now always asks about his "grandclerks."

KCRW

"Press Play" host Madeleine Brand interviewed Erman about his experience clerking for Judge Garland. Erman spoke about how Garland's time as the federal prosecutor on the Oklahoma City bombing case influenced his judicial career. "Being a prosecutor is a very public role. Public service is very important to him, and when you're a prosecutor you're speaking on behalf of the people -- when you're a federal prosecutor, the whole country," Erman said. "And he wasn't just any federal prosecutor; he was the federal prosecutor who prosecuted a very high profile, very important case. For me, that fits in to someone who's just devoted himself to public service across many years now."

KPCC

Erman was quoted by KPCC about Judge Garland's mentorship of his law clerks. He said that Garland hosts a brunch at his home each year for all of his former clerks. "I think the one thing I learned from him is just how much law matters, and how much it matters to get it right," Erman said. "He taught that in part just through example, but he also engaged with his law clerks and helped us to become better lawyers while we were working with him."