New York County Lawyers Association Condemns Former President Trump’s Attacks on Justice Merchan’s Family Members

New York County Lawyers Association Condemns Former President Trump’s Attacks on Justice Merchan’s Family Members

April 1, 2024  New York, New York – Late last week former President Donald J. Trump made a series of social media posts criticizing Justice Juan Merchan and certain members of his family, including the justice’s adult daughter Loren who works for a digital marketing firm that sometimes contracts to assist Democratic candidates.  Trump’s posts accuse Justice Merchan (who will soon be trying Trump’s criminal “hush money” case involving alleged payments to pornographic film star Stormy Daniels) and his family members of bias, a contention that the justice has already rejected in denying a motion by Trump’s lawyers seeking his recusal.

“Ethical rules prohibit Justice Merchan from speaking out to protect himself and his family members, so we must do it for him – and we will,” said Adrienne Koch, NYCLA’s President.  “We condemn former President Trump’s unfounded attacks in the strongest possible terms.”

“It has become an unfortunate fact of life that social media posts of the sort made by former President Trump invite further personal attacks and even the possibility of physical violence,” Ms. Koch continued.  “No judge should have to be concerned that doing his or her job in a hotly contested case might put family members at risk.  That is a clear and present threat to the rule of law.”

With two weeks to go until the start of jury selection in former President Trump’s first criminal case to go to trial, we at NYCLA make an urgent plea to dial back the dangerous rhetoric.  NYCLA  spoke out against Trump’s previous string of attacks on Justice Merchan, nearly a year ago.  More recently, NYCLA spoke out against the way the rhetoric escalated in Trump’s civil case before Justice Arthur Engoron.  These most recent attacks against Justice Merchan’s family members are not simply more of the same: it raises the threat to a new level.  This conduct is intolerable in a society where the administration of justice by an independent judiciary is so critical to our very way of life.

About the New York County Lawyers Association

The New York County Lawyers Association (www.nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as one of the first major bar associations in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, or gender. Since its inception, it has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence and has continuously played an active role in legal developments and public policy.

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