Garland Elevates Appellate Unit He Used in Oklahoma Bombing Case

Attorney General Merrick Garland is increasingly turning to an undersized appellate office for counsel on Jan. 6 and other notable criminal cases, a strategy rooted in his time leading the Oklahoma City bombing prosecution.

Garland’s appreciation for the criminal appellate section’s dispassionate legal analysis in securing convictions in the 1995 tragedy is now behind his department’s preference to deploy the unit’s talents at early stages, several of the attorney general’s past DOJ colleagues said.

The approach aims to give prosecutors an edge in trying to win jury trials that will be sustained on appeal. But it’s also causing a resource ...