The federal judge assigned to oversee former FBI Director James Comey’s criminal case is preparing to preside over what is expected to be one of the most closely watched trials of President Donald Trump’s second termU.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, a Biden appointee who holds a fourth-degree black belt in Shotokan Fudokan karate—a discipline that emphasizes composure under pressure—will face intense public and political scrutiny as the proceedings unfold.

Nachmanoff, who presides in the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, held Comey’s arraignment on Wednesday morning. The disgraced former FBI director was indicted last month on federal charges of making false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding, stemming from allegations that he lied to Congress during testimony in 2020.

Comey pleaded not guilty.

Throughout his career, Nachmanoff has developed a reputation as a fair and measured jurist who is highly respected within Virginia’s legal community, according to sources who spoke with CNN. Prior to his appointment to the federal district court, Nachmanoff served as a magistrate judge in the same Alexandria courthouse.

Legal professionals who have argued cases before Judge Michael Nachmanoff—both successfully and unsuccessfully—described him as a jurist who keeps his personal views private and is unlikely to heighten tensions surrounding the prosecution of Comey, a case that has already drawn significant public and political attention, CNN noted.

“I would call him an apolitical judge,” Kevin Carroll, a Virginia attorney who earlier this year unsuccessfully sought an emergency court order from Judge Nachmanoff to temporarily reinstate his client, a CIA physician who alleged she was forced out of her position under pressure from conservative officials, told CNN.

“The judge hasn’t brought politics into it at all,” Carroll added. “It’s just been straight legal discussion.”