Biography
Professor Merriam is an associate professor with a joint appointment to the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs (College of Sciences) and Legal Studies Department (College of Community Innovation and Education). His research and teaching interests focus on national security law and constitutional law, focusing especially on constitutional issues associated with the military and military service. Professor Merriam also serves as an appellate military judge appointed to the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals.
Before arriving at UCF, Professor Merriam was an assistant professor at the United States Air Force Academy, where he received the Outstanding Academy Educator Award for excellence in teaching. Prior to entering academia, Professor Merriam practiced law as an active duty judge advocate in the United States Air Force, and as an associate attorney at the international law firm K&L Gates LLP.
Research Areas
Professor Merriam has broad research interests in the fields of national security law and constitutional law, focusing especially on constitutional issues affecting military activities, service, service members, and veterans. He has published articles in the Oklahoma Law Review, Penn State (Dickinson) Law Review, Mississippi Law Journal, UCLA Women’s Law Journal, National Security Law Journal, Indiana Health Law Review, Air Force Reporter, and elsewhere. Professor Merriam has authored three books. In 2024, Professor Merriam co-authored (with lead author UCF Legal Studies Professor James Beckman) Crimes Against the State (Bloomsbury), detailing historical incidents of crimes against the United States, such as treason, sedition, espionage, and insurrection. Professor Merriam previously authored with Professor Douglas McKechnie of the United States Air Force Academy National Security Law (West Academic), the first undergraduate textbook on the subject. Earlier, with lead author Professor Joshua Kastenberg of the University of New Mexico School of Law, Professor Merriam coauthored the book In a Time of Total War: The Federal Judiciary and the National Defense, 1940-1954 (Ashgate), regarding the United States Supreme Court’s military law jurisprudence during World War II and the early years of the Cold War. In 2015, Dr. Merriam’s scholarship earned the Thomas P. Keenan, Jr. Award for the “most outstanding contribution to the development of international and military operations law” in the United States Air Force.
