Born in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, Merrill received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1928 and a Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1931. He was in private practice in Reno, Nevada from 1931 to 1950. He became a justice of the Nevada Supreme Court from 1951 to 1959, serving as chief justice from 1955 to 1956, and in 1959.^[1]

On August 27, 1959, Merrill was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated by Judge William Healy. Merrill was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 14, 1959, and received his commission on September 21, 1959. He assumed senior status on October 8, 1974, serving in that capacity until his death on March 29, 1996, in San Francisco, California.^[1]

• Charles Merton Merrill at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.