Juan Merchan, the Colombian-American justice presiding over Trump's criminal case

The New York State Supreme Court justice slated to preside over Tuesday's arraignment of former President Donald J. Trump is, Juan Merchan, a Colombian American whose family emigrated to the United States at the young age of six. 

The New York lawyer turned judge grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens as the youngest of six children. His father had previously served as a military officer in Colombia.

Once the family relocated to the U.S. Merchan was on a track to become the first member of his family to graduate from college. 

Once the aspiring jurist graduated from high school, he applied and was accepted to Baruch College in Manhattan where he studied business. 

Merchan successfully completed his Bachelor's degree in 1990 and immediately began his career as a jurist by enrolling in law school at Long Island's Hofstra University. He graduated from law school with a Juris Doctor degree in 1994. 

He began his legal career as a prosecutor with the New York District Attorney's Office Trial Division from 1994-1998 and then spent a year in the office's Special Prosecutions Bureau of the Investigations Division from 1998-1999. 

Shortly after leaving the NYC District Attorney's Office, Merchan accepted a position for two years as a state Deputy Assistant Attorney General in Charge of the Long Island Nassau region. He then spent another two years overseeing both Nassau and Suffolk counties overseeing affirmative litigation, and finished his career with the state from 2003-2006 as the attorney in charge of Nassau County.

That same year, Merchan was appointed as a Bronx County family judge, and in three years he was appointed as an acting justice in the Supreme Court in downtown Manhattan.

For the past decade, Merchan has served as the presiding judge over the system's Mental Health Court and the Veteran's Treatment Court. 

Merchan previously sentenced Trump's close confident Allen Weisselberg to prison, presided over the Trump Organization tax fraud trial and oversaw former adviser Steve Bannon's criminal fraud case.

Merchan has been described by observers as a "tough" but "fair" judge.

Before what's expected to be the media-intensive Trump case, Merchan has presided other high-profile cases, including the "soccer mom madam" trial, in which he set a $2 million bond for Anna Gristina, who was charged with running a $2,000-an-hour escort service for the wealthy.

The New York Supreme Court justice has been describes as "efficient" and "practical" and is known for his distaste for disruptions in his courtroom.

He is is also credited for having helped create the Manhattan Mental Health Court.

Already, former president Donald Trump claimed on his Truth Social account that Juan Merchan had treated his companies “VICIOUSLY” in a tax fraud case.

Speaking this Sunday on ABC News’s “This Week,” Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina contradicted Trump by saying that he doesn’t believe the judge who oversaw the former President's indictment is biased.

“How could I subscribe to that when I’ve had no interactions with the judge that would lead me to believe he’s biased?” Tacopina said.

Tacopina also told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that when Trump makes his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon, “We will very loudly and proudly say, ‘not guilty.’”