New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, overseeing the Trump indictment, also presided over prosecutions of the Trump Organization and CFO Allen Weisselberg. On Friday, Trump lashed out at Merchan on social media, declaring that the judge “HATES ME.”
The case appears to center on how Trump repaid the former lawyer and fixer who gave the money to Daniels, and whether he falsified business records to benefit his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has denied wrongdoing.Merchan will have the unprecedented job of figuring out how to hold a criminal proceeding involving a famously combative former president, who is still protected by the U.S. Secret Service, and whose court appearances will almost certainly create a media circus.
The judge, who was born in Colombia and grew up in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, has held various posts as a lawyer and jurist in New York government since the 1990s, including working as a family court judge in the Bronx and as an assistant district attorney in the New York County district attorney’s office. He now works at the New York Supreme Court, a felony-level trial court with branches in each New York City borough and each county around the state.
As part of his portfolio, Merchan oversees a specialized court that gives treatment options and merit-based plea agreements to eligible defendants who are in the throes of mental illness when they commit crimes. The program prioritizes treatment and recovery. Graduates can see their charges reduced or dismissed.In addition to the Trump-related cases, Merchan has overseen other high-profile trials, including some that were front-page tabloid news.
And during his first years serving on the New York County criminal court, Merchan oversaw the case of a woman accused of operating a pricey escort service whose tabloid moniker,
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