Trump's historic NY trial puts spotlight on judge

By Bart Jansen
USA Today

NEW YORK - Supreme Court justice Juan Merchan is no stranger to former President Donald Trump.
..... Merchan is presiding over the first criminal trial in history of a former president. Jury selection began Monday [04/15/2024] for trump's trial on 34 counts of allegedly falsifying business recored. Several of Merchan's pretrial rulings have gone against Trump, including gag orders and a rejection of delays. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
..... After Trump was indicted in March 2023 and Merchan was assigned the case, the former president blasted the judge on social media, writing on Truth Social, "the Judge 'assigned; to my Witch Hunt Case, a 'Case' that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME." He asked to remove Merchan from the case, to no avail.
..... Merchan has been a felony judge for 15 years. Then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Merchan as family Court judge in 2006. Three years later chief administrative Judge Lawrence Marks named him to the Supreme Court handling felonies.
..... Before joining the bench, Merchan served as an assistant attorney general on suburban Long Island and in the Manhattan district attorney's office. those are also the locations of his higher education: He has a bachelor's degree from Baruch college and a law degree from Hofstra University.
..... This is Merchan's second Trump-connected case. He fined tow parts of the Trump Organizational $1.6 million in a 2022 tax fraud trial, in which the company's former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, was convicted for not reporting $1.7 million in benefits.
..... Merchan sentenced Weisselberg to five months in jail. After listening to Weisselberg's testimony, the judge said he regretted agreeing to a five-month term, and if not for the sentence much greater than that." He imposed the fine on the two Trump companies, which are appealing.

Attacks and gag orders

..... In the run-up to the trial, Trump repeatedly attacked Loren Merchan, the judge's daughter.
..... In one social media post, he called her :a Rabid Trump Hater, who has admitted to having conversations with her father about me."
..... The judge acknowledged in an august [2023] ruling that his daughter heads digital marketing agency Authentic Campaigns, which works with Democratic candidates and nonprofits.
..... But Merchan said his daughter's work didn't provide a justifiable reason for refusal. The New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics found the case didn't involve Loren Merchan or her business either "directly or indirectly."
..... The judge imposed a gag order March 26 [2024] against Trump commenting on witnesses, count staff or prosecutors. After the repeated criticism of his daughter, Merchan expanded the order April 9, [2024] to prohibit comments about relatives of him or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg if the statement are intended to interfere with the case.
..... "To argue that the most recent attacks, which included photographs, were 'necessary and appropriate in the current environment,' is farcical," Merchan wrote.

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