Professor Merchant teaches Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Sentencing, and Habeas Corpus at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. From 2022 to 2023, he was a Fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States, with an assignment at the United States Sentencing Commission. Along with an immersion in constitutional law and Supreme Court practice, Professor Merchant helped prepare amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. He has previously worked as a federal law clerk and litigator.

Professor Merchant’s research centers on sentencing theory and the intersection of criminal law and constitutional law, with a particular focus on the Founding Era. He has authored several law-review articles and the book Revolution in Redline: The Iterative Journey of the U.S. Constitution, which traces the documents that inspired the Founding Documents and analyzes the drafting history of the Founding Documents.