Aaron R. Merriman is a native of Wichita, Kansas. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Mount Union, near Cleveland, Ohio, where he was involved in the Pre-Law Society and worked as a victims’ rights advocate. Aaron earned his master’s degree in public administration and his Juris Doctor from Northern Illinois University. While in law school, Aaron interned at a prosecutor’s office, worked as a graduate assistant at NIU’s Center for Governmental Studies, and clerked for a small general practice law firm and for an Illinois state trial court judge. He also served as co-chair of community engagement for the NIU Criminal Law Society and organized several successful events, including a food drive for a local homeless shelter and faculty and alumni symposia. Following law school, Aaron was a prosecutor at the McLean County State’s Attorney’s Office in Bloomington, Illinois, for 2 ½ years, where he prosecuted traffic, DUI, and misdemeanor cases. As a prosecutor, Aaron gained extensive courtroom experience, trying nearly 20 cases to jury verdict and handling many more cases in contested hearing settings, including bench trials, motions to suppress evidence, and petitions to rescind