S. Lee Merritt (born Stacy Sylvester Lee Merritt) is an American civil rights lawyer and activist, most known for his work on racial justice issues. On March 20, 2021, Merritt announced on Twitter his proposal to run for Texas attorney general, saying "Texas deserves an attorney general that will fight for the constitutional rights of all citizens." He suspended his campaign on March 10, 2022, and endorsed Rochelle Mercedes Garza as the Democratic candidate.

Early life and education

Merritt was born on February 1, 1983 in South Central Los Angeles and as a child moved to north Florida. Merritt graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' from

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

in Atlanta, Georgia and attended Temple University’s James Beasley School of Law, graduating in 2012. While at Temple, Merritt participated in the trial advocacy program.

Career

Following graduation from Morehouse College, Merritt taught in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

through the Teach for America program. After graduating from Temple University, Merritt began his career at

The Cochran Firm The Cochran Firm is a law firm in the United States founded by the late Johnnie Cochran in Los Angeles in 1968. History In 1997, Cochran partnered with Samuel A. Cherry Jr., Keith Givens, and Jock M. Smith. The partnership of Cochran Cherry Givens ...

in their Philadelphia office and at McEldrew Young. Merritt founded the Merritt Law Firm, which represents victims of

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

, official corruption, corporate discrimination, and

hate crimes A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

. Based in Philadelphia, the firm takes on civil rights cases nationwide.

Deandre Harris

On August 12, 2017, Deandre Harris was beaten in a

parking garage A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...

by six men following a "Unite the Right" rally in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

; Merritt served as Harris' attorney in the case.

Jordan Edwards

On April 29, 2017, Jordan Edwards, a 15-year-old African American male, was fatally shot in the back of the head by police officer Roy Oliver in

Balch Springs, Texas Balch Springs ( , ) is a city in Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is an inner-ring suburb of Dallas and part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The population was 23,728 at the 2010 census, and 25,007 at 2019's cen ...

, while riding in the passenger's seat of a vehicle leaving a house party. Merritt served as the Edwards' family attorney.

Marlin Gipson

Merritt represented 20-year-old Marlin Gipson after he was arrested then charged for failing to identify himself and resisting arrest. Gipson was distributing business cards for his lawn care service, but was misidentified as the suspect in a local string of burglaries.

Atatiana Jefferson

Atatiana Jefferson was fatally shot in her home by a police officer in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, in the early morning of October 12, 2019. Merritt served as the family's attorney in this case.

Ahmaud Arbery

Merritt is currently serving as the lawyer for the family of Ahmaud Arbery, who was jogging through

Brunswick, Georgia Brunswick () is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-largest urban area on the Georgia coastline after Sa ...

, on February 23, 2020, and murdered by two white men who claimed Arbery looked like a suspect in a string of local burglaries. Alongside the lawyers for the families of

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...

and Breonna Taylor, Merritt plans to bring the case to the United Nations.

Activism

In 2017, Merritt appeared before the

National Black Caucus of State Legislators The National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) is an American political organization composed of African Americans elected to state legislatures in the United States and its territories. Background NBCSL was founded in 1977 after a gro ...

41st Annual Conference on a Town Hall panel to discuss

mass incarceration Incarceration in the United States is a primary form of punishment and rehabilitation for the commission of felony and other offenses. The United States has the largest prison population in the world, and the highest per-capita incarceratio ...

. “Mass incarceration is a problem that must be addressed otherwise we become a part of the problem due to inaction,” said Merritt in the panel. Following the murders of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd in 2020, Merritt made various television appearances alongside Arbery's mother to call attention to the broad issues of racial bias in policing and American society at large. On March 20, 2021, Merritt announced on Twitter his proposal to run for Texas attorney general, saying "Texas deserves an attorney general that will fight for the constitutional rights of all citizens." He suspended his campaign on March 10, 2022, and endorsed Rochelle Garza as the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

candidate. Garza was defeated in the general election.

Awards and recognition

In 2017, Merritt was No. 8 on The Root 100, a list honoring the top 10 most influential African Americans in the country ages 18 to 45. In his biography, Merritt is described as an "emerging as a new leader in the fight for racial justice, standing on the front lines of making sure people know that black lives matter."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merritt, Lee African-American activists 21st-century African-American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers American civil rights lawyers Living people Morehouse College alumni People from Florida Activists from Los Angeles Lawyers from Los Angeles Temple University alumni Texas Democrats 1983 births