This article was updated to reflect more detailed information about the usual procedure in the Southern District of Florida for assigning cases to judges.
Former President Donald J. Trump's criminal indictment on charges stemming from his handling of classified documents will be overseen — at least initially — by a federal judge whom a higher court criticized for a series of rulings that were unusually favorable to Mr. Trump during the early stages of the investigation, according to five people familiar with the matter.
The judge, Aileen M. Cannon, who Mr. Trump appointed to the bench in 2020, is scheduled to preside over the former president's first appearance in Federal District Court in Miami on Tuesday, the people said. In general, judges who handle initial appearances, go on to preside at further proceeding. But it was not clear whether Judge Cannon would remain assigned for the entirety of Mr. Trump's case.
Judge Cannon's involvement was earlier reported by ABC News.
Angela Noble, the chief clerk of court for the Southern District of Florida, said in an email exchange with The New York Times last fall that new cases are randomly assigned among the judges in the district, rather than automatically assigned to a judge who has heard a related matter.