Who is Juan Merchan? What to know about the judge in Trump맥스카지노s hush money case
The New York judge overseeing Donald Trump맥스카지노s hush money trial will take center stage in the case Monday with jury selection kicking off in the historic criminal prosecution of the former president.
New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan is a seasoned jurist who is no stranger to Trump맥스카지노s orbit. He has presided over the Trump Organization tax fraud trial, sentenced the former president맥스카지노s close confidant Allen Weisselberg to prison over his role in the scheme and overseen former Trump adviser Steve Bannon맥스카지노s criminal fraud case.
But it맥스카지노s the former president맥스카지노s trial on charges that he illegally falsified business records over the reimbursement of hush money payments made before the 2016 election that will leave a lasting mark on Merchan맥스카지노s long career atop the state-level trial court.
All eyes will be on the judge as he oversees the first trial Trump has in the four criminal cases brought against him by state and federal prosecutors last year. The presumptive Republican nominee has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Merchan has been described by observers as a 맥스카지노tough맥스카지노 judge, yet one who is fair, no matter who is before him.
Here맥스카지노s what you need to know.
'A man of his word'
Trump맥스카지노s trial is likely to be a spectacle with wall-to-wall media coverage and a show of law enforcement to provide protection to the former president as he attends the proceedings, which are expected to last several weeks. In the lead-up to the start of the trial, Trump fanned the flames on social media with his views on the judge.
Video below: A preview into picking a jury for Donald Trump's New York criminal trial
But in the courthouse, Merchan does not stand for disruptions or delays, attorneys who have appeared before him previously told CNN, and he맥스카지노s known to maintain control of his courtroom even when his cases draw considerable attention.
맥스카지노Judge Merchan was efficient, practical, and listened carefully to what I had to say,맥스카지노 Nicholas Gravante, the attorney who represented Weisselberg in his plea in the tax fraud case, said last year.
맥스카지노He was clear in signaling his judicial inclinations, which helped me tremendously in giving Mr. Weisselberg informed legal advice,맥스카지노 Gravante said. 맥스카지노Judge Merchan was always well-prepared, accessible, and 맥스카지노 most importantly in the Weisselberg matter 맥스카지노 a man of his word. He treated me and my colleagues with the utmost respect, both in open court and behind closed doors.맥스카지노
That sentiment was echoed by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a private practice attorney who previously worked as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney맥스카지노s Office, supervising cases Merchan presided over.
맥스카지노[Merchan] doesn맥스카지노t let the prosecutors or the defendants create any issues in his courtroom. He doesn맥스카지노t let a media circus or any other kind of circus happen. I don맥스카지노t think Donald Trump attacking him and threatening him is going to bode very well for him in the courtroom,맥스카지노 Agnifilo, who is also a CNN legal analyst, said last year before Trump was arraigned in the hush money case.
Merchan has attempted to get out ahead of any potential issues created by Trump during the trial by issuing a gag order against the former president in recent weeks. The order, which bars Trump from publicly commenting on witnesses and the staff of the court and district attorney, was later broadened by Merchan to cover the judge맥스카지노s own family after Trump went after his daughter on social media.
맥스카지노It is no longer just a mere possibility or a reasonable likelihood that there exists a threat to the integrity of the judicial proceedings. The threat is very real. Admonitions are not enough, nor is reliance on self-restraint,맥스카지노 Merchan wrote in his ruling expanding the gag order.
Trump is appealing the gag order, a move that is part of his broader effort to delay the hush money trial.
Merchan and other judges in the state have so far rejected Trump맥스카지노s various bids to delay the trial, though Merchan did postpone the trial맥스카지노s start date last month after a late production of discovery documents.
A 'certified Trump hater'
Trump has a long history of attacking people involved in his criminal and civil cases, including the judges overseeing them.
Merchan is no exception.
Video below: Aerial footage shows Donald Trump arriving for criminal hush money trial in New York
Last month, the former president described him as a 맥스카지노certified Trump hater맥스카지노 on his Truth Social platform and went on to single out the judge맥스카지노s daughter, Loren Merchan, over her Democratic ties in an attack that led the judge to expand the gag order.
In focusing on Loren Merchan, Trump has said that she is a senior executive at 맥스카지노a Super Liberal Democrat firm맥스카지노 that has worked with top Democrats, including President Joe Biden. The former president pushed the discredited claims that Loren Merchan posted an incendiary image of the former president behind bars on her social media account 맥스카지노 an account that the court said didn맥스카지노t even belong to her.
Trump also claimed Judge Merchan has ruled against him in pretrial motions 맥스카지노because his daughter makes money by working to 맥스카지노Get Trump.맥스카지노맥스카지노
Loren Merchan has not commented publicly on the case.
Though it맥스카지노s true that Loren Merchan has served as president of Authentic Campaigns, a firm that does digital campaign work like online fundraising, mobile messaging and web design, the firm has scrubbed references to her on its site, and it맥스카지노s difficult to directly link Authentic to specific political ads. Still, the firm works for campaigns that have disparaged Trump, including for being charged with crimes.
Last year, Merchan rejected a request by Trump for the judge to recuse himself from the case due to his daughter맥스카지노s work. He wrote in his order that the court 맥스카지노has examined its conscience and is certain in its ability to be fair and impartial.맥스카지노
Trump is challenging the judge맥스카지노s decision to not step away from the case.
'Tough' but 'compassionate'
Merchan showed some of his tough side when Weisselberg was sentenced in 2023, telling the former Trump associate that if he had not already promised him a five-month sentence, he would have handed him a 맥스카지노much greater맥스카지노 sentence after having listened to evidence at trial.
When he presided over Bannon맥스카지노s criminal fraud case, Merchan chastised the former Trump aide맥스카지노s new team of attorneys for delaying the case when they asked for more time to review new evidence.
In addition to the Trump cases, Merchan has also presided over other high-profile cases, including the 맥스카지노soccer mom madam맥스카지노 trial, in which he set a $2 million bond for suburban mom Anna Gristina, who was charged with running a $2,000-an-hour escort service for the wealthy,
Merchan also handed a 25-years-to-life sentence to a Senegalese man who raped and murdered his girlfriend.
Then-Trump attorney Timothy Parlatore said during an interview on CNN last year that Merchan was 맥스카지노not easy맥스카지노 on him when he tried a case before him, but echoed that the judge likely will be fair.
Video below: New York DA lays out case against Trump
맥스카지노I맥스카지노ve tried a case in front of him before. He could be tough. I don맥스카지노t think it맥스카지노s necessarily going to be something that맥스카지노s going to change his ability to evaluate the facts and the law in this case,맥스카지노 Parlatore said.
Merchan, however, is also credited by his peers for having helped create the Manhattan Mental Health Court, which he often presides over and where he has earned a reputation for 맥스카지노compassionate맥스카지노 rulings that give defendants second chances.
맥스카지노I watched a colleague of mine try a shooting case where someone got shot, so he맥스카지노s able to try those very serious violent crimes and then switch,맥스카지노 Brendan Tracy, a criminal defense attorney who previously served as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney맥스카지노s Office, told CNN last year.
맥스카지노Maybe someone who was a serial shoplifter and then charged with grand larceny and is in mental health treatment court because they had mental health issues, he was able to handle the wide range of cases and do them all fairly,맥스카지노 Tracy added.
Still, Earl Ward, a trial attorney and chair of public defender nonprofit The Bronx Defenders, said that having watched Merchan preside over cases in the Mental Health Court, the judge often sided with prosecutors.
맥스카지노He맥스카지노s fair and his rulings are consistent with the law, but if it맥스카지노s a close call, his reputation is that he lands on the prosecution맥스카지노s side,맥스카지노 Ward previously told CNN.
Early career
Merchan launched his legal career in 1994 when he started off as an assistant district attorney in the trial division in the Manhattan District Attorney맥스카지노s Office. Several years later, he moved on to the state attorney general맥스카지노s office, where he worked on cases in Long Island.
In 2006, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, then a Republican, appointed Merchan to Family Court in the Bronx, and Democratic him to the New York State Court of Claims in 2009, the same year he began serving as an acting New York Supreme Court judge.
Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Merchan emigrated to the United States at the age of 6 and grew up in the New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Queens, of the judge. He was the first in his family to go to college.
Merchan initially studied business at Baruch College in New York before he dropped out of school to work, only to return several years later to finish school so that he could get his law degree,
He eventually received his law degree from Hofstra University.