Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein, Who Presided Over the Maduro Case, Dies at 92
New York — U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York died on Wednesday, October 28, at age 92, a court spokesperson confirmed. The court said he died of natural causes, surrounded by family. Hellerstein had served on the federal bench for nearly three decades and was still presiding over the narcoterrorism conspiracy case against former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro when he died.
President Bill Clinton appointed Hellerstein to the bench in 1998, when he was 64. He took senior status in 2011 but continued to hear major cases. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain called him "insightful and dedicated" in a statement, noting his service of more than 25 years continued until his death. His docket over the years included more than 14,000 civil lawsuits filed by victims of the September 11 attacks and disputes over the release of military detainee-abuse photographs.
His rulings on President Donald Trump defined the last years of his career. Hellerstein repeatedly rejected Trump's bids to move the New York state "hush money" criminal case into federal court: he sent the case back to state court in 2023, and on August 28 he ruled once more against removal, writing that "the trial evidence does not infringe on presidential immunity." Trump had been convicted in the case on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
In the Maduro case, Hellerstein took the assignment in January, days after turning 92, and set a June 2027 trial date for Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. After his death, the case was reassigned to U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres. Barry Pollack, an attorney for Maduro, said he was saddened by the judge's passing and offered condolences to his family.
Source: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 New York Manhattan 的 Daniel Patrick Moynihan 联邦法院大楼，纽约南区联邦地区法院所在地。照片 CC BY-SA 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan, New York, home of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-10-28Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein, Who Presided Over the Maduro Case, Dies at 92This story
