In Drug Trial Justice Juan Merchan Says Emojis Matter In Courtroom Trump Was Tried In

In Drug Trial Justice Juan Merchan Says Emojis Matter In Courtroom Trump Was Tried In by Matthew & Russell Lee, Patreon Substack 100 CENTRE ST, May 7 – A man on trial for significant drug sales before NYS Justice Juan Merchan may see his fate determined by emojis.    After a witness from the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor testified about charts she constructed from text messages involving the defendant, the jury was sent home for the day.    Then the real argument began. The defense lawyer, retained, argued that the text messages were cumulative, an argument Justice Merchan called not the strongest. He took more interest in alterations between versions.   In the initial Cellebrite extraction, a thumbs-up emoji was visible. But it disappeared in the subsequent PDF version.    Justice Merchan asked, Weren't the PDFs created at the defense's request? When the answer was yes, he said I am allowing the emojis in as evidence.    Emojis matter. Maybe a lot.   Four stories below, Justice Cori H. Weston in her gun and DNA trial denied the defense's motion to dismiss made once it rested its case. Choosing instructions for the following day, she concluded "Yada, Yada, Yada." And so it goes in 100 Centre Street *** Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron. Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Mail: Box 130222, Chinatown Station, NY NY 10013 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.  Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com