Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who handled Trump and Maduro cases, dies at 92

Alvin K. Hellerstein, a federal judge in Manhattan who presided over cases involving President Donald Trump, former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, has died. He was 92 ¹².

Hellerstein died Wednesday, according to Edward Friedland, district executive for the Southern District of New York federal courts. No cause of death was immediately provided ². A spokesperson for the Southern District confirmed the death to CBS News ¹.

President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, appointed Hellerstein to the federal bench in 1998. He served as a district judge until he moved to senior status in 2011. Before that, he served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps and was a Manhattan litigator ².

A thorn in Trump's side

In August, in one of his last significant rulings, Hellerstein again rejected Trump's effort to erase his hush money conviction, turning down the president's bid to move the state court case to federal court and have it dismissed on presidential immunity grounds. It was the third time Hellerstein denied Trump's requests to move the case ².

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The first denial came after Trump's March 2023 indictment; the second followed Trump's May 2024 conviction and a subsequent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that presidents and former presidents cannot be prosecuted for official acts ². An appeals court ordered Hellerstein to reconsider, and he ruled against Trump one last time on Aug. 28 ¹.

Hellerstein wrote that reimbursing former Trump attorney Michael Cohen for a payment to adult film star Stephanie Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels, could not be considered a constitutional duty ¹.

The Maduro case and what comes next

At the time of his death, Hellerstein was presiding over the criminal case of Maduro, who was captured earlier this year in a surprise raid. Only two weeks ago, Hellerstein presided over a Manhattan hearing in the ongoing narco-terrorism conspiracy prosecution ¹².

Barry Pollack, an attorney for Maduro, said in a text message to CBS News, "We were saddened to learn of Judge Hellerstein's passing and offer our condolences to his family." ¹

Hellerstein's death is unlikely to create significant delays in the Maduro case, according to lawyer and former federal prosecutor Duncan Levin ¹.

There's no automatic pause, and there's really no fixed period of delay. Obviously a new judge is going to need time to get familiar with the case, but they can keep all the existing dates on the calendar or adjust them as necessary.

Hellerstein was 64 years old when Clinton appointed him. In the three decades since, he presided over major lawsuits related to the Sept. 11 attacks, a federal lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein, litigation related to evidence of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and the trial of Ponzi schemer David Hu. Last year he ruled against Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act in a case involving the deportation of Venezuelans ¹.

In 2020, Hellerstein ordered Michael Cohen released from prison after the Justice Department revoked his home confinement to thwart his efforts to publish a book or talk to the media. The government's action, he ruled, was retaliatory and a First Amendment violation ².

That matters because Hellerstein was one of the federal judges who repeatedly checked the president's legal arguments from the bench, and his death removes a familiar name from the court handling the Maduro prosecution six days before the midterm election.

The Record

1. Jan 1, 1998President Bill Clinton appointed Hellerstein to the federal bench; he moved to senior status in 2011 ².
2. May 1, 2024Trump was convicted in the hush money case; Hellerstein later denied his bid to move it to federal court ².
3. Aug 28, 2026Hellerstein ruled against Trump one last time, writing that the trial evidence does not infringe on presidential immunity ¹.
4. Oct 28, 2026Hellerstein died at 92, confirmed by the Southern District of New York ¹².

Sources

1. CBS News, “Alvin Hellerstein, judge in Maduro and Trump cases, dies at 92” (2026-10-28). cbsnews.com/news/alvin-hellerstein-dies-judge-maduro-trump/
2. ABC News, “Alvin K. Hellerstein, a federal judge who handled Trump, Maduro and 9/11 cases, dies at 92” (2026-10-28). abcnews.com/US/wireStory/alvin-hellerstein-federal-judge-han

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