Sam J. Merchant

B.A., University of Central Oklahoma, 2013

J.D., University of Oklahoma College of Law, 2016

About

Sam J. Merchant teaches Constitutional Law and advanced Criminal Procedure courses. He is also a Research Fellow at the Georgetown Law Center for the Constitution. From 2022 to 2023, he was a Fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States, with an assignment at the United States Sentencing Commission. Along with an immersion in constitutional law and Supreme Court practice, Professor Merchant helped prepare amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. His research focuses on horizontal and vertical disparities in criminal sentencing and on constitutional theory, particularly in the Founding Era. His work has been cited by parties and amici at the Supreme Court of the United States, and by U.S. Sentencing Commissioners.

From 2020–2022, Professor Merchant worked as a law clerk for the Honorable Jodi W. Dishman in the Western District of Oklahoma, working on civil and criminal cases. Before clerking, Professor Merchant practiced litigation around the country in state and federal courts and before administrative bodies while working at McAfee & Taft in Oklahoma City. He is admitted to practice in the State of Oklahoma, the Supreme Court of the United States, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, five federal district courts, and two bankruptcy courts. He taught Civil Pretrial Litigation at OU Law in 2021 and 2022. For several years, he also served as the Chair of the Oklahoma City Board of Adjustment, a quasi-judicial board within the Planning Department. Prior to attending law school, he worked for J. P. Morgan Chase Bank, owned small businesses, and worked in market development for a billion-dollar nutrition company.