Donald Trump is set for arraignment on a historic indictment Tuesday that will make him the first U.S. president, current or former, to be criminally charged. He will appear in Manhattan Criminal Court in the afternoon.
The judge denied video cameras in the courtroom, and while phones and laptops are permitted, they cannot be used during the hearing, which means no live coverage at the hearing. So who is the judge?
His name is Juan Merchan, an acting justice with the State Supreme Court since 2009. He also presided over the trial of the Trump Organization's former CFO Allen Weisselberg.
Merchan, who started his career as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan, now has 16 years of experience on the bench. He worked in the State Attorney General's office before he was appointed to the Bronx Family Court bench in 2006. The New York Times reports Merchan was born in Bogotá, Colombia, came to the U.S. when he was 6 years old.
Merchan grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens.
Trump's case isn't the first high-profile one Merchan has overseen. Back in 2012, he presided over the case of the woman known as the "soccer mom madam" — who made international headlines for allegedly running an Upper East Side call girl ring for millionaires.
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More recently, Merchan also presided over the case of the Trump Organization's former chief financial officer, as well as the tax fraud trial in which the family's company was convicted of 17 counts, including conspiracy and falsifying business records. Merchan also saw Weisselberg's sentencing. The ex-CFO is now serving time at Rikers.
