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Juan Merchan

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Juan Merchan
Justice of the New York Supreme Court
Acting
Assumed office
2009
Appointed byAnn Pfau
Personal details
Born
Juan Manuel Merchan

1962 or 1963 (age 61–62)
Bogotá, Colombia
EducationBaruch College (BBA)
Hofstra University (JD)

Juan Manuel Merchan[1] (born 1962/1963)[2] is an American judge and former prosecutor. He is an acting justice of the New York State Supreme Court in New York County (Manhattan). He is presiding over the 2024 criminal trial of former US president Donald Trump.

Early life and education

Merchan was born in Bogotá, Colombia.[3] He emigrated to New York City when he was six years old, growing up in Jackson Heights, Queens, as the youngest of six children. His father had been a military officer in Colombia.[4] Merchan studied business at Baruch College in Manhattan, graduating in 1990, and earned his Juris Doctor from Hofstra University School of Law on Long Island in 1994.[2] He was the first member of his family to go to college.[5]

Political views

During the 2020 United States presidential election, Merchan donated $15 to Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden's campaign, $10 to the Progressive Turnout Project, and $10 to Stop Republicans, a subsidiary of the previous.[6]

Career as prosecutor

In 1994, Merchan began his career as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.[7] He worked in the office's Trial Division and Investigations Division,[1] prosecuting financial frauds and other cases.[7] From 1999 to 2006, he worked for the New York State Attorney General's office, first as Deputy Attorney General in-Charge, Nassau County Region (1999–2001), then as Assistant Attorney General in-Charge of Affirmative Litigation for Nassau and Suffolk Counties (2003–2006), and then as Assistant Attorney General in-Charge Nassau County Region (2003–2006).[1]

Career as judge

Merchan became a judge in 2006 when New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed him to the New York City Family Court, Bronx County.[7] He remained in that role until 2009.[1]

Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau appointed Merchan as Acting Justice in the Supreme Court of New York, New York County, Criminal, in 2009, and he has been in that position since that time.[1] Merchan presides over felony criminal trials.[1]

Merchan also previously served concurrently as a judge of the New York Court of Claims, being appointed to that role by Governor David Paterson in 2009 and serving until 2018.[1]

Notable cases

In 2011, Merchan presided over the case of a New York Police Department sergeant William Eiseman, who admitted to conducting illegal searches and then lying about his actions in court. Eiseman pleaded guilty to first-degree perjury and official misconduct, and Merchan sentenced him to 24 days in jail; Eiseman also forfeited his pension.[8][9]

In 2012, Merchan presided over the criminal proceedings against Anna Gristina, who was charged with operating an upscale prostitution ring on the Upper East Side.[10][11] Gristina and a co-defendant had been arrested in February 2012, after an investigation by the Manhattan DA's office.[11] Merchan set bail at a $2 million bond, or $1 million cash; because Gristina was unable to meet this amount, she was detained at Rikers Island jail for four months.[12] The Appellate Division lowered Gristina's bail to $250,000 bond or $125,000 cash, on condition that she give up her passport and be electronically monitored.[12] Gristina, nicknamed the "Soccer Mom Madam", pleaded guilty to one count of promoting prostitution, and Merchan sentenced her to six months in jail, which amounted to time already served due to the four months Gristina had spent at Rikers before being bailed.[13][14]

In late 2022, Merchan oversaw the five-week criminal trial of the Trump Organization; the organization was convicted of 17 counts of tax fraud.[15]

He also presided over the criminal case of Donald Trump's former financial chief Allen Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to his role in a 15-year-long tax-fraud scheme.[16][17] Weisselberg admitted to evading taxes by accepting $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation and entered a plea agreement, in which he testified against The Trump Organization and helped to secure the company's conviction.[18] Merchan sentenced Weisselberg to five months at Rikers Island and said he would have imposed a substantially longer sentence but for the plea agreement.[17]

Merchan is the judge assigned to preside over the criminal trial of Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser who was indicted in September 2022 on charges of fraud and money laundering in connection with a fundraising scheme. The case is set for trial in May 2024.[19]

On April 4, 2023, Merchan oversaw the arraignment of former U.S. president Donald Trump on 34 felony counts.[20] The indictment of Trump was delivered by a grand jury on March 30.[21][22] It was unsealed the same day, with Trump pleading not guilty.[20]

Personal life

Merchan officiated at the wedding of his daughter, Loren, in 2022.[23] She heads a digital marketing agency which works with Democratic Party candidates and non-profits.[23][24][25]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Judges Profiles: Juan Merchan". New York Law Journal. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  2. ^ a b Gregorian, Dareh; Reiss, Adam (March 31, 2023). "Who's Judge Juan Merchan? Trump says he 'hates me' but lawyers say he's fair". NBC News. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  3. ^ Sharp, Rachel; Dodds, Io (2023-03-31). "Juan Merchan: Who is the judge likely to try Trump's criminal case?". The Independent. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  4. ^ Rashbaum, William K.; Bromwich, Jonah E. (December 6, 2022). "Judge in Trump Company Trial Knew How to Read the Numbers". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  5. ^ Kashiwagi, Sydney (April 1, 2023). "Meet the judge presiding over Trump's criminal arraignment". CNN. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  6. ^ Valle, Jeremy Herb,Kara Scannell,Lauren del (2023-04-06). "$35 political contribution to Democrats raises fresh scrutiny of Judge Merchan | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved 2024-04-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ a b c Gold, Michael (2023-04-04). "This will be Justice Juan M. Merchan's second time overseeing a Trump case". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  8. ^ Eligon, John (2011-06-27). "Police Sergeant to Get Jail Term for Perjury and Illegal Searches". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  9. ^ Grace, Melissa (June 27, 2011). "NYPD Sgt. William Eiseman pleads guilty to lying under oath in plea deal". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  10. ^ Barnard, Anne; Moynihan, Colin (2012-03-07). "Charged as Madam, and Defended as Entrepreneur and Pig Rescuer". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  11. ^ a b Rosenberg, Noah (2012-03-15). "New Lawyers for Woman Charged as High-End Madam". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  12. ^ a b Buettner, Russ (2012-06-13). "Woman Said to Be a Madam Wins a Big Cut in Her Bail". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  13. ^ Buettner, Russ (2021-09-26). "Suburban Mother Pleads Guilty to Running a Brothel on the Upper East Side". New York Times. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  14. ^ Van Voris, Bob (2021-07-02). "Trump Judge Has Had Some Dramatic Cases, Like 'Soccer Mom Madam'". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  15. ^ Hurtado, Patricia; Van Voris, Bob (2023-03-31). "Donald Trump is already attacking the judge handling his hush money case and spelling his name incorrectly". Fortune. Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  16. ^ Protess, Ben; Rashbaum, William K.; Bromwich, Jonah E. (2022-08-15). "Trump Executive Nears Plea Deal With Manhattan Prosecutors". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  17. ^ a b Protess, Ben; Bromwich, Jonah E.; Rashbaum, William K. (2023-01-10). "Trump's Longtime Finance Chief Sentenced to 5 Months in Jail". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  18. ^ SIsak, Michael R. (2022-08-18). "Trump executive pleads guilty in tax case, agrees to testify". AP News. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  19. ^ Scannell, Kara (May 25, 2023). "Trial date set for Steve Bannon's fundraising fraud case". CNN. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  20. ^ a b Bromwich, Jonah E.; Rashbaum, William K.; Protess, Ben; Haberman, Maggie (4 April 2023). "From President to Defendant: Trump Pleads Not Guilty to 34 Felonies". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  21. ^ Jacobs, Shayna; Dawsey, Josh; Barrett, Devlin; Alemany, Jacqueline (30 March 2023). "Trump indicted by N.Y. grand jury, first ex-president charged with crime". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  22. ^ Marritz, Ilya; Bernstein, Andrea; Chappell, Bill; Romo, Vanessa (30 March 2023). "Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury". NPR. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  23. ^ a b Lizza, Ryan et al. “POLITICO Playbook: Democracy week in Washington”, Politico (5 Jun 2022).
  24. ^ Bagchi, Aysha. “Donald Trump attacks NY judge's daughter, Manhattan DA Bragg requests court intervene”, USA Today (1 April 2024).
  25. ^ Sisak, Michael. “Donald Trump is demanding a new judge just days before the start of his hush-money criminal trial”, Associated Press via ABC News (April 5, 2024).
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