Judge Alvin Hellerstein, Presiding Over the Maduro Case, Dies at 92
The Manhattan federal judge, who handled 9/11 lawsuits and repeatedly ruled against Trump, was overseeing the criminal case of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
Federal judge Alvin Hellerstein, who spent decades on the bench in Manhattan and was presiding over the criminal case of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, has died at 92. A spokesperson for the Southern District of New York confirmed the death on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
Hellerstein took the Maduro case in January, days after turning 92, a decision that drew some criticism. Questions about his age grew after reporters saw him appear to briefly doze off during the trial of Charlie Javice, a 32-year-old CEO convicted of defrauding JPMorgan in a $175 million sale of her startup. Maduro's attorney, Barry Pollack, said he was saddened by the news and offered his condolences to the judge's family.
President Bill Clinton appointed Hellerstein to the federal bench when he was 64. Over the following decades he handled many of the most prominent civil and criminal matters in the country. They included lawsuits tied to the September 11, 2001 attacks, a federal lawsuit against convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein, litigation over evidence of abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, and the trial of Ponzi schemer David Hu.
He also clashed repeatedly with President Donald Trump. Hellerstein rejected Trump's efforts to move his New York state criminal case to federal court, and his opinions often dismissed arguments from Trump's lawyers that the conduct at issue was part of official presidential duties. That case involved reimbursements to former attorney Michael Cohen for a 2016 payment to adult film star Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels. A state jury found Trump guilty.
A 2024 Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity forced Hellerstein to revisit the matter. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ordered him to reexamine the immunity arguments, and on August 28 he again ruled against Trump, finding that the trial evidence did not infringe on presidential immunity. Last year he also ruled against the president's use of the Alien Enemies Act in a case involving the deportation of Venezuelans.
Hellerstein had overseen cases connected to the Maduro matter since 2014, giving him long familiarity with the Venezuelan government's legal exposure in New York. His death raises the question of what happens to the pending prosecution.
Former federal prosecutor Duncan Levin said it was unlikely to cause major delays. He noted there is no automatic pause in such a case, and that a successor judge could keep the existing dates or adjust them as needed. The court has not yet said who will take over the Maduro docket or the rest of Hellerstein's caseload.
The passing of a judge who sat through the nation's biggest legal fights of the past quarter century leaves the Southern District with a vacancy and a high-profile case to reassign. Further details on the court's plans were not immediately available Wednesday afternoon.
