Jeralyn Merritt

Infobox Law Firm
firm_name = Jeralyn E. Merritt, Attorney at Law
firm_
headquarters = Denver, Colorado
num_offices = one
num_attorneys = one
practice_areas = criminal defense and related forfeitures, with an emphasis on complex federal drug and white collar crimes
key_people = Jeralyn E. Merritt
date_founded = 1974
founder = Jeralyn E. Merritt
company_type =
homepage = http://www.jmerrittlawoffice.com

Jeralyn Elise Merritt (born September 28, 1949) is an American criminal defense attorney who practices in Denver, Colorado. In 1996 and 1997 she served as one of six principal trial lawyers for Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing case, after the court venue moved to Denver.United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, [http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/mcveigh/front.htm "Petition for Writ of Mandamus of Petitioner-Defendant] , Timothy James McVeigh and Brief in Support, March 25, 1997", Case No. 96-CR-68-M, accessed 1 March, 2007.]

A well-known legal and political analyst, she is a frequent guest on news programs in the public media. She created the legal-resource website "CrimeLynx: The Criminal Practitioner's Guide through the Internet" ("crimelynx.com") in 1996. In 2002 she founded and is the principal author of the award-winning blog "TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime" ("talkleft.com") ("The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news"), attracting 26,687,817 million distinct visitors by September 22, 2008 (TalkLeft site meter). She also blogs at the "Huffington Post" and, on matters relating to Colorado, is a frequent contributor to "Elevated Voices", the daily blog of "".

She is the co-author of "An Analysis" of the USA Patriot Act of 2001 (2002).

Education

A 1967 graduate of New Rochelle High School, in New Rochelle, New York, [http://www.classmates.com/directory/public/memberprofile/list.htm?regId=8698113551 "Jeralyn Merritt"] at "Classmates.com", accessed May 23, 2008.] Merritt attended Case Western Reserve University before transferring to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she majored in political science and earned a B.A. in 1971.Jeralyn E. Merritt, [http://www.jmerrittlawoffice.com/jsp2091037.jsp "Attorney Profile"] , "LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory", "lawyers.com", accessed May 24, 2008.] In 1973 she earned a J.D. degree from the University of Denver Law School, returning there to teach "Wrongful Convictions" and "Criminal Defense" as Lecturer in Law from 2000 to 2003.Carrie Printz, [http://www.du.edu/today/stories/2006/08/2006-09-01-merritt.html "Merritt's Blog Covers Crime and Justice"] , "DU Today" (University of Denver publication), August 30, 2006, rpt. from "University of Denver Magazine" (Fall 2006), accessed April 28, 2007.]

Achievements

Admitted to the Bars of the Supreme Court of Colorado, the U.S. District Court, District of Colorado and U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit (all 1974); New York and the U.S. Supreme Court (both 1981), the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (1990), the U.S. District Court, District of Arizona (1991), and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (1999), she is also a member of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, as well as a member of the LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Legal Advisory Board (1996– ).

In 1995 she received the first annual Marshall Stern Award for Outstanding Legislative Achievement, from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), for which she has served as a member of the Board of Directors (1995–2001), secretary (2002–2003), and treasurer (2003–2004), and as the chair, co-chair, or vice-chair of numerous affiliated committees and projects, including NACDL vice-chair of The Innocence Project, founded and directed by fellow NACDL members Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, from 1998 to 2002. [Award cited via the link to "Marshall Stern Legislative Achievement Award", [http://www.nacdl.org/public.nsf/freeform/Awards?OpenDocument "Awards"] , "National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers", accessed May 24, 2008; cf. Jeralyn E. Merritt, [http://www.jmerrittlawoffice.com/achievements.jsp "Achievements"] and [http://www.jmerrittlawoffice.com/proact.jsp "Professional Activities] ", "LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory", "lawyers.com", accessed May 24, 2008.]

Areas of practice

Her practice, described on her firm's website as "Committed to Defending Constitutional Rights," is "limited to criminal defense and related forfeitures, with an emphasis on complex federal drug and white collar crimes." [Jeralyn E. Merritt, [http://www.jmerrittlawoffice.com/firmoverview.jsp "Firm Overview"] , "LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory", "lawyers.com", accessed May 24, 2008 (throughout).]

eminars

She is also a specialist in the use of the internet as a legal research resource and presents seminars and speeches on its use in investigation, on handwriting analysis, and on other matters pertaining to her legal specialties. [Jeralyn E. Merritt, [http://www.jmerrittlawoffice.com/seminars.jsp "Seminars"] , "LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory", "lawyers.com", accessed May 24, 2008.]

Publications

Book

She is co-author of "An Analysis" of the USA Patriot Act of 2001 published by Matthew Bender & Co., Inc. (a member of the LexisNexis Group) in 2002. [She is cited as an "expert" on the USA Patriot Act of 2001 by Christopher Reed, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/story/0,3605,1057338,00.html "Caught in the Act"] , "The Guardian" 7 October, 2003, accessed May 24, 2008.]

Internet resource and blog

She is the creator of "CrimeLynx", an internet resource for legal professionals and the general community, and a blog called "TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime", which is a three-time winner of a Koufax Award for best single-issue blog (2002, 2003, and 2004––in 2004 "TalkLeft" shared with "Grits for Breakfast"), and, most recently, a winner of the Weblog Awards for "The Best of the Top 250 Blogs" (2006). [ [http://2006.weblogawards.org/2006/12/best_of_the_top_250_blogs.php "Best of the Top 250 Blogs"] , "weblogawards.org" 18 December, 2006, accessed 1 March, 2007. "The Weblog Awards are the world's largest blog competition, with over 525,000 votes cast in the 2006 edition for finalists in 45 categories. Nominations ended November 24, and voting was conducted between December 7 and December 15 [2006] . Final results [were] announced Dec. 18, 2006." "TalkLeft" came in first in its category with "25.15 % (3495)" of the total votes cast.] "TalkLeft" became one of the blogs featured in "The Ruckus" section at "Newsweek" Online in 2007. [http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/theruckus/ "The Ruckus"] , "Newsweek", "blog.newsweek.com", accessed May 24, 2008.]

Accredited press blogger at the Libby trial

With Jane Hamsher (creator of "Firedoglake") and Marcy Wheeler (author of the recently-published book "Anatomy of Deceit"), Jeralyn Merritt also provided ground-breaking coverage of the United States of America v. I. Lewis Libby, also known as "Scooter Libby", for which they were among the first bloggers to receive fully-accredited media passes to a U.S. federal trial and during which they also appeared on "PoliticsTV.com" for a round up summarizing each day's trial events. Her entries on the Libby trial appeared in "Firedoglake" and "The Huffington Post", as well as at "TalkLeft".See main|United States v. Libby#Press coverage of the trial

YearlyKos panel on live-blogging the trial

On August 2, 2007, Merritt moderated a panel discussion at the 2007 YearlyKos Convention, featuring Christy Hardin Smith and Marcy Wheeler of Jane Hamsher's FireDogLake blog, relating their experiences "liveblogging" the Scooter Libby trial. The panel also included Sheldon L. Snook, Chief of Staff to the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, who was "the court official in charge of news media at the Libby trial."Jeralyn Merritt, [http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/7/17/22053/1145 "Announcing the YKos Panel on Live-Blogging the Scooter Libby Trial"] , "TalkLeft" (accredited press blog), 17 July, 2007, accessed 17 July, 2007.] [http://www.yearlykosconvention.org/node/166 "Live Blogging the Libby Trial"] , program listing, "YearlyKos" convention, August 2, 2007, accessed July 28, 2007.] Among the topics are: "the credentialing process, the challenges of blogging in real time, the back-end work required and costs incurred in hosting a live trial blog, what bloggers brought to the mix, how we interacted with and were treated by the MSM [Mainstream Media] and how varied our individual perspectives were, allowing us to provide political commentary as well as legal, both from a prosecution and defense point of view."

Accredited blogger at the 2008 Democratic National Convention

With TalkLeft accredited as a national blog at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, held in Denver, Colorado, from August 25 through 28, 2008, although she did not cover the convention itself from the floor of the Pepsi Center, she did report extensively on the other convention venues in Denver, such as the Huffington Post's Oasis spa. and CNN's Grill. Among the featured photos posted on her blog from the convention were shots of Arianna Huffington, DeeDee Myers, the CNN anchors, and a shot of Frank Sinatra's former wife. [http://www.demconvention.com/credentialed-blogs/ "Blogs Credentialed For the Convention"] , "demconvention.com" (2008 Democratic National Convention Committee, Inc., Denver, Colorado), May 29, 2008, accessed August 27, 2008.]

Other publication venues

She also blogs regularly at "The Huffington Post" (since August 2005) and for "Elevated Voices", published in "", and, from time to time, as a guest blogger for Eric Alterman, senior fellow and "Altercation" weblogger for "Media Matters for America" (formerly hosted on "MSNBC.com" from 2002 to 2006). She serves occasionally as a guest columnist for newspapers such as the "Rocky Mountain News" and as a guest moderator for online chats on legal cases for "The Washington Post". [Announcements posted and archived at "TalkLeft" (June 2002 to March 2007).]

According to Dave Kopel, research director for the Independence Institute of Golden, Colorado, and a lawyer who writes a column for "The Rocky Mountain News", in his commentary on the Denver, Colorado, trial of former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio:

Denver criminal defense lawyer and civil liberties advocate Jeralyn Merritt runs the TalkLeft.com weblog, which sets a great example of how to write about legal issues in an intelligent way while still connecting with readers who haven't gone to law school. Merritt has been live-blogging the Nacchio trial for 5280 magazine's weblog, Elevated Voices. She provides a running semi-transcript of courtroom events, in far greater detail than you can find anywhere else while the court is in session. She doesn't attend every day of the trial, but when she's there, Elevated Voices is the best Web site for up-to-the minute coverage.Dave Kopel, [http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion_columnists/article/0,2777,DRMN_23972_5439178,00.html "Kopel: Internet Humming with Nacchio Trial Coverage:] Blogs, Web Sites Rife with Insight, Info", "Rocky Mountain News" March 24, 2007, Opinion, accessed March 24, 2007.]

Media experience

Since 1996, she has served as a legal analyst for and commentator on television news programs. She served as a television legal analyst for MSNBC (1997–1999) and presently continues as a guest legal commentator on television for NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, Court TV, and Fox News, presenting her perspective as a criminal defense attorney on many contemporary legal cases being covered on several major national media news programs. [Jeralyn E. Merritt, [http://www.jmerrittlawoffice.com/newsclips.jsp "News Clips"] , "LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory", "lawyers.com", accessed May 24, 2008.]

Bibliography

*Mailman, Stanley, Jeralyn E. Merritt, Theresa M. B. Van Vliet, and Stephen Yale-Loehr. "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT Act) Act of 2001: An Analysis". Newark, NJ and San Francisco, CA: Matthew Bender & Co., Inc. (a member of the LexisNexis Group), 2002. (Rel.1-3/02 Pub. 1271)

Filmography

*" [http://alt.tnt.tv/specials/wasjusticedenied/main.html Was Justice Denied?] " High Road Productions. First broadcast on Turner Network Television on June 20, 2000, with repeated broadcasts on June 24 and June 29, 2000. Accessed September 20, 2008. [Member of "The Legal Team" in feature-length documentary film re-examining two murder cases in which the defendants may have been wrongfully convicted.]

elected webcasts and other video clips

* [http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/10474 "Götterdemocraterung"] with Jeralyn Merritt and Mark Kleiman. Webcast recorded April 22, 2008. Posted on "Bloggingheads.tv", April 24, 2008. Accessed May 22, 2008.
*" [http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-34,GGLG:en&oe=UTF-8&um=1&q=Jeralyn+Merritt&sa=N&tab=nv The Libby Trial V-Log] " with Jeralyn Merritt, Jane Hamsher, and Marcy Wheeler. "YouTube" clips recorded from January 29 to January 31, 2007. Archived on "Google Video". Accessed May 22, 2008.
* [http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/10057 "The Loneliness of the Pro-Hillary Blogger"] with Jeralyn Merritt and Ann Althouse. Webcast recorded April 8, 2008. Posted on "Bloggingheads.tv", April 9, 2008. Accessed May 22, 2008.
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8613418274928272895&q=Jeralyn+Merritt&ei=2u82SLG2AYua-wHhor3kAw "Purging Prosecutors: Was TV News Clueless?"] . Interview of Jeralyn Merritt (guest) by Howard Kurtz. "Reliable Sources", "CNN", broadcast on March 18, 2007. "YouTube" clip archived on "Google Video". Accessed May 23, 2008.
*" [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9177866007465036923&q=Jeralyn+Merritt&ei=D_E2SLbcKor8-wGsytXqAw TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime] ". Promotional video clip posted on "YouTube", by "TalkLeft", on July 1, 2006. Archived on "Google Video". Accessed May 23, 2008.
* [http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/10844 "Why Won't Hillary Quit?"] with Jeralyn Merritt and Ann Althouse. Webcast recorded May 7, 2008.
Posted on "Bloggingheads.tv", May 7, 2008. Accessed May 22, 2008.

Notes

References

*Kopel, Dave. [http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion_columnists/article/0,2777,DRMN_23972_5439178,00.html "Kopel: Internet Humming with Nacchio Trial Coverage:] Blogs, Web Sites Rife with Insight, Info". "Rocky Mountain News" March 24, 2007, Opinion. Accessed March 24, 2007.
*Printz, Carrie. [http://www.du.edu/today/stories/2006/08/2006-09-01-merritt.html "Merritt's Blog Covers Crime and Justice"] . "DU Today" (University of Denver publication), August 30, 2006. Rpt. from "University of Denver Magazine" (Fall 2006). Accessed April 28, 2007.

External links

*" [http://crimelynx.com CrimeLynx] " – "The Criminal Practitioner's Guide through the Internet" created by Jeralyn Merritt. Incl. hyperlinked "legal resource center for the criminal defense practitioner" and "criminal justice center for professionals and the community".
* [http://www.coloradosupremecourt.com/Search/Attdet.asp?Reg=5288 "Jeralyn E. Merritt"] – Colorado Supreme Court attorney listing via the "Attorney Information Search" (Active status; Registration #5288).
*" [http://www.jmerrittlawoffice.com/ Jeralyn E. Merritt] " – Firm website published by "LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell".
*" [http://www.martindale.com/Jeralyn-E-Merritt/301843-lawyer.htm Jeralyn E. Merritt] " – "Lawyer Profile" in "The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory" (LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell).
* [http://alt.tnt.tv/specials/wasjusticedenied/frame_info_exclude.html "Jeralyn E. Merritt"] – "The Legal Team" biography in "Was Justice Denied?" (Turner Network Television).
* [http://www.martindale.com/xp/legal/About_Martindale/Legal_Advisory_Board/legal_advisory_board.xml#merritt "Jeralyn Merritt"] – Legal Advisory Board of LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell.
*" [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeralyn-merritt/ Jeralyn Merritt] " – Personal blog at "The Huffington Post".
*" [http://talkleft.com TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime] " – "The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news" and personal blog of Jeralyn Merritt.