[1] His father was Bernard Meltzer, who served as a law professor at the University of Chicago and as a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials.
[3] Daniel Meltzer's uncle was Edward H. Levi, who served as United States Attorney General under Gerald Ford and as president of the University of Chicago (1968–1975).
[6] Meltzer co-authored several books on the federal court system, habeas corpus, and other subjects with Richard Fallon and David L. Shapiro.
At the time of his resignation, his service for the administration was noted for efforts to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, related policies affecting terrorism detainees, anti-abortion issues in the health care reform debate, and preparation of Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor in her 2009 confirmation hearings.
Also noted was close work during his tenure with the acting leader of the Office of Legal Counsel, David J. Barron (also a fellow Harvard law professor), and with United States Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli, both in the Department of Justice.