NEW YORK — Judge Juan M. Merchan looked across his high-ceilinged courtroom at the suspect in a complicated case.
Not the one everyone knows.
Yes, Merchan could become the first judge ever to oversee the criminal trial of a former US president: Donald Trump’s hush money case. But on a recent morning, the judge dealt with far less high-profile cases in Manhattan’s once-weekly Mental Health Court, where select mentally ill offenders agree to closely monitored treatment in the hope that charges will be dismissed and their lives will get back on track. .
As Merchan spoke to defendants about their progress, stumbling blocks, jobs, families and even workouts, it was a far cry from the upcoming trial in which Trump will be at the defense table but the judge will also be in a hot seat.
The ex-president and presumptive Republican nominee has called Merchan a “Trump-hating” judge, and defense lawyers have unsuccessfully asked him to leave the case. Merchan received dozens of death threats after Trump criticized him on social media last year.
Ten days before jury selection was to begin, Merchan on Friday postponed the trial until at least mid-April due to a last-minute dump of evidence. He scheduled a March 25 hearing on next steps.
Merchan declined to talk about the case last week, but admitted that preparation for the historic trial is “intensive.”
He strives to “make sure that I have done everything I can to be prepared and to make sure that we do justice,” he said in an interview, emphasizing his confidence in court staff.
“There is no agenda here,” he said. “We want to follow the law. We want justice to be done.”
“That’s all we want,” he said.
Born in Colombia, Merchan emigrated as a six-year-old and grew up in New York. He worked his way through college, graduated from Hofstra University Law School and served as a state attorney and prosecutor in Manhattan before being appointed a family court judge in 2006. Three years later, he was assigned to a misdemeanor court, which New York calls a trial court. State Supreme Court.
Now 61, he has presided over cases involving murder, rape and many other crimes: multimillion-dollar investment fraud, a clubland stabbing, stolen laptops, intimidation.
He oversaw the trials of three men who parachuted from the tallest skyscraper of the rebuilt World Trade Center, and of at least one defendant in a sprawling disability fraud case against police officers, firefighters and others accused of feigning psychological problems to receive benefits.
Merchan is still dealing with the aftermath of the 2012 case of Anna Gristina, the “soccer mom madam” whose alleged exploits spawned a 2021 Lifetime movie. She now wants to withdraw her guilty plea and is suing the judge to trying to unlock some transcripts of the case. Lawyers for Merchan have said the sealing was justified.
The focus on Merchan has intensified over the past three years as he took on cases involving Trump’s company, former finance chief Allen Weisselberg and ultimately Trump himself.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to manipulating company data to cover up a 2016 attempt to suppress claims of extramarital affairs, which he denies. Prosecutors say he was trying to protect his first campaign; he has said he is fighting a “bogus lawsuit” filed to hinder his current run.
Trump was not charged in the tax fraud case against his company, the Trump Organization. A jury voted to convict. Merchan imposed a fine of $1.6 million, the legal maximum. The company denies the violation and is appealing.
If some could see Merchan’s familiarity with the Trump Organization case as preparation for the hush money trial, the ex-president and his lawyers see a problem.
They have alleged that Merchan is “biased” against Trump, saying that the strong-armed Judge Weisselberg cut a plea deal behind the scenes, agreeing to testify in the tax fraud case and serving a five-month prison sentence.
Merchan and prosecutors have disputed the claims. The judge wrote that attorneys drew “misleading” conclusions from an “inaccurate” account of his involvement in Weisselberg’s plea negotiations.
Trump’s lawyers have also pointed out that Merchan’s daughter is a political consultant whose company has worked for Democrats and that the judge donated $35 to Democratic causes in 2020, including $15 to current President Joe Biden. A state court ethics panel found that Merchan could proceed with the case. The judge has assured that he can be fair and impartial.
Trump has a history of attacking judges in cases involving his company or administration. He came into personal contact with lawyers during his recent civil trials over New York State’s claims of corporate fraud and the allegations of sexual abuse and defamation by writer E. Jean Carroll. Trump denied all allegations.
Federal Judge Lewis A. Kaplan presided over two jury trials of Carroll’s claims with stern authority. In the juryless business fraud trial, state Judge Arthur Engoron sometimes gave way, such as letting lawyers review the issues he decided, but at other points he pounded his desk in frustration.
Merchan has so far handled the criminal court dates with polite but firm formality. When one of Trump’s lawyers complained last month that the lawsuit would place undue burden on the candidate during his campaign, Merchan responded: “That’s not a legal argument. Something else?”
Roger Stavis, an attorney who testified for Merchan at a jury trial years ago, remembers the judge as confident but “not overbearing.”
“He has command of his courtroom,” Stavis said. “He doesn’t let himself be bothered or led astray.”
As for Merchan himself, he says that in his courtroom “everyone is treated respectfully and professionally.”
During long trials, judges in Manhattan often reserve one day a week for other cases. Merchan keeps Wednesdays free for the mental health court, which he has overseen since its inception in 2011, and for a similar veteran role he took on in 2019.
The mental health court currently handles nearly 70 cases, compared to 50 per year in the budget, said coordinator Amber Petitt-Cifarelli. About 100 participants were successfully completed between 2014 and 2021, while 190 were admitted, according to a report from Manhattan prosecutors.
“We help a lot of people, but it is hard work. …You really become invested in people’s lives,” Merchan said, adding that it allows him to “see people through a different lens” than when he was solely in charge of criminal cases.
Last week, Merchan offered encouragement to a newcomer who broke down in tears as he described how a mental illness ended his studies on a full scholarship. He urged one defendant not to lose patience with residential treatment rules and congratulated another on completing her finals in the property class. He presented progress certificates to some, including a residential treatment patient who had been approved for an apartment.
It wasn’t all good news. Merchan issued an arrest warrant for someone who failed to return to a residential program after a medical visit. A robbery defendant apologized for smoking K2, his first misstep in a year of court-supervised treatment.
When Merchan asked what happened, the man said he was depressed because his mother and siblings were far away, but later spoke to his counselor about dealing with such feelings.
‘So we are not going to keep harping on the situation that has occurred. Because you have earned the good faith,” Merchan concluded, noting the man’s honesty. He remains on course for a certificate of progress if he avoids further slip-ups.
Another man made progress in quitting marijuana, avoided old hangouts and bought a library card to make reading a new pastime.
“You have a problem and you’re working on it,” Merchan told him. “I’m very proud of you.”
___
Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak contributed.