What You Need to Know About Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice

A briefing by Earthjustice regarding the confirmation of Merrick Garland as Attorney General, detailing his legal background and the role of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and its Environment & Natural Resources Division (ENRD) in enforcing environmental laws.

• Merrick Garland was confirmed by the Senate on March 10 to lead the Department of Justice. He previously served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for 24 years after being nominated by President Clinton in 1997.
• The Department of Justice is responsible for enforcing environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act, to hold polluters accountable and protect public health.
• The Environment & Natural Resources Division (ENRD) within the DOJ defends government actions and pursues enforcement cases, and is noted as the only U.S. organization that files more environmental lawsuits than Earthjustice.
• Earthjustice has previously challenged the DOJ on two occasions: in 2015 regarding federal loan guarantees for a Cargill hog factory affecting the Buffalo River Watershed in the Arkansas Ozarks, and in 2020 regarding air quality investments for a community in the Detroit area.

APA

Earthjustice (2021). What You Need to Know About Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice. https://earthjustice.org/brief/2021/what-you-need-to-know-about-merrick-garland-and-the-department-of-justice

Chicago

Earthjustice. What You Need to Know About Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice. 2021. https://earthjustice.org/brief/2021/what-you-need-to-know-about-merrick-garland-and-the-department-of-justice.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Earthjustice |title=What You Need to Know About Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice |date=10 March 2021 |url=https://earthjustice.org/brief/2021/what-you-need-to-know-about-merrick-garland-and-the-department-of-justice |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{earthjustice2021what, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{What You Need to Know About Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://earthjustice.org/brief/2021/what-you-need-to-know-about-merrick-garland-and-the-department-of-justice}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }