Who is Juan Merchan? What to know about the judge in Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s hush money case
The New York judge overseeing Donald Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s orbit. He has presided over the Trump Organization tax fraud trial, sentenced the former president바카라 게임 웹사이트s close confidant Allen Weisselberg to prison over his role in the scheme and overseen former Trump adviser Steve Bannon바카라 게임 웹사이트s criminal fraud case.
But it바카라 게임 웹사이트s the former president바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 Merchan바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트tough바카라 게임 웹사이트 judge, yet one who is fair, no matter who is before him.
Here바카라 게임 웹사이트s what you need to know.
'A man of his word'
Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 he바카라 게임 웹사이트s known to maintain control of his courtroom even when his cases draw considerable attention.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Judge Merchan was efficient, practical, and listened carefully to what I had to say,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Nicholas Gravante, the attorney who represented Weisselberg in his plea in the tax fraud case, said last year.
바카라 게임 웹사이트He was clear in signaling his judicial inclinations, which helped me tremendously in giving Mr. Weisselberg informed legal advice,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Gravante said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트Judge Merchan was always well-prepared, accessible, and 바카라 게임 웹사이트 most importantly in the Weisselberg matter 바카라 게임 웹사이트 a man of his word. He treated me and my colleagues with the utmost respect, both in open court and behind closed doors.바카라 게임 웹사이트
That sentiment was echoed by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a private practice attorney who previously worked as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney바카라 게임 웹사이트s Office, supervising cases Merchan presided over.
바카라 게임 웹사이트[Merchan] doesn바카라 게임 웹사이트t let the prosecutors or the defendants create any issues in his courtroom. He doesn바카라 게임 웹사이트t let a media circus or any other kind of circus happen. I don바카라 게임 웹사이트t think Donald Trump attacking him and threatening him is going to bode very well for him in the courtroom,바카라 게임 웹사이트 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 judge바카라 게임 웹사이트s own family after Trump went after his daughter on social media.
바카라 게임 웹사이트It 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,바카라 게임 웹사이트 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 Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s various bids to delay the trial, though Merchan did postpone the trial바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트certified Trump hater바카라 게임 웹사이트 on his Truth Social platform and went on to single out the judge바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트a Super Liberal Democrat firm바카라 게임 웹사이트 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트 an account that the court said didn바카라 게임 웹사이트t even belong to her.
Trump also claimed Judge Merchan has ruled against him in pretrial motions 바카라 게임 웹사이트because his daughter makes money by working to 바카라 게임 웹사이트Get Trump.바카라 게임 웹사이트바카라 게임 웹사이트
Loren Merchan has not commented publicly on the case.
Though it바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 it바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 daughter바카라 게임 웹사이트s work. He wrote in his order that the court 바카라 게임 웹사이트has examined its conscience and is certain in its ability to be fair and impartial.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Trump is challenging the judge바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트much greater바카라 게임 웹사이트 sentence after having listened to evidence at trial.
When he presided over Bannon바카라 게임 웹사이트s criminal fraud case, Merchan chastised the former Trump aide바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트soccer mom madam바카라 게임 웹사이트 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트not easy바카라 게임 웹사이트 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
바카라 게임 웹사이트I바카라 게임 웹사이트ve tried a case in front of him before. He could be tough. I don바카라 게임 웹사이트t think it바카라 게임 웹사이트s necessarily going to be something that바카라 게임 웹사이트s going to change his ability to evaluate the facts and the law in this case,바카라 게임 웹사이트 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트compassionate바카라 게임 웹사이트 rulings that give defendants second chances.
바카라 게임 웹사이트I watched a colleague of mine try a shooting case where someone got shot, so he바카라 게임 웹사이트s able to try those very serious violent crimes and then switch,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Brendan Tracy, a criminal defense attorney who previously served as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney바카라 게임 웹사이트s Office, told CNN last year.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Maybe 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,바카라 게임 웹사이트 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.
바카라 게임 웹사이트He바카라 게임 웹사이트s fair and his rulings are consistent with the law, but if it바카라 게임 웹사이트s a close call, his reputation is that he lands on the prosecution바카라 게임 웹사이트s side,바카라 게임 웹사이트 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 Attorney바카라 게임 웹사이트s Office. Several years later, he moved on to the state attorney general바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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.