Judge Juan Merchan could become the first judge ever to oversee a former U.S. president’s criminal trial. He is presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money case in New York. If Trump goes on trial, the judge also will be in a hot seat. Merchan won’t talk about the case but says getting ready for the historic trial is “intense.” He says the court wants only to follow the law and for justice to be done. Appointed a family court judge in 2006, Merchan was assigned to felony trial court three years later. He also has overseen Manhattan's Mental Health Court since its 2011 inception. He says that lets him “see people through a different lens” than when he presided solely over criminal cases.
