Trump's lawyers fault late Judge Hellerstein in court filing a day after his death

President Donald Trump's lawyers filed a 43-page brief on Thursday attacking the handling of his New York criminal case by U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein. Hellerstein had died the morning before, at age 92 ¹.

The brief went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which sits in New York. It did not mention the judge's death ¹.

What the filing says

Trump's lawyers want the appeals court to reverse Hellerstein's order. That order refused to let Trump move his state criminal conviction case into federal court ¹. Scripps News reported that it was the judge's third denial, issued in August, and that he wrote that "Paying hush money to an adult film star" is not covered by presidential immunity ².

The brief says the prosecutors at the Manhattan District Attorney's office and the judge have both "grasped for different, meritless reasons" to deny Trump a federal court. Trump's side calls him "the chief federal officer" ¹.

From Channel GOPTrump insults NBC reporter over abuse allegations questionDonald Trump · 171 plays · captioned, with the source named

The lawyers rely on a law that lets some prosecutions of federal officers move to federal court. They argue the case concerns official acts as president. They also lean on the Supreme Court's July 2024 ruling in Trump v. United States, which protects some presidential conduct from prosecution ¹.

The filing also blames the judge for delay. It says his court took another 10 months to rule after the Second Circuit sent the matter back in November 2025 ¹. The brief was signed by lawyers including Robert J. Giuffra Jr. of Sullivan and Cromwell ¹.

Judge Hellerstein was an insightful and dedicated lawyer who, following a distinguished career in the private sector, served with distinction for over 25 years as a distinguished jurist of this court

Who Hellerstein was

President Bill Clinton appointed Hellerstein to the bench in 1998. He kept working into his 90s, and Newsweek reported that his service continued until his death ¹².

He also handled lawsuits over the September 11, 2001, attacks. Two weeks before he died, he presided over a hearing in the case against Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro. Judge Analisa Torres has taken over that case, and Maduro's trial is set for June ¹².

Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York said his service continued until his death ¹.

What happens next

The Second Circuit will now decide whether to reverse the order. Trump's lawyers ask it to send the case back with instructions to let him remove it ¹. Hellerstein's other cases are expected to be assigned at random to other Manhattan judges ¹.

That matters because a lawyer's brief is routine, but the timing is not. The filing is legal argument, and nothing in the coverage says the date was chosen on purpose. Still, the pattern of criticizing judges who rule against the president is one readers should keep watching as the courts weigh his powers.

The Record

1. Jul 1, 2024The Supreme Court's Trump v. United States ruling protected some presidential conduct from prosecution, and Trump's lawyers say it changed the law ¹.
2. Nov 1, 2025The Second Circuit sent Trump's removal request back to Hellerstein for reconsideration ¹.
3. Oct 28, 2026Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein died at 92 ¹².
4. Oct 29, 2026Trump's lawyers filed a 43-page brief with the Second Circuit criticizing Hellerstein's rulings ¹.

Sources

1. Newsweek, “Trump's Attorneys Criticize New York Judge One Day After His Death” (2026-10-30). newsweek.com/trump-attorneys-criticize-new-york-judge-day-af
2. Scripps News, “Alvin K. Hellerstein, a federal judge who handled Trump, Maduro and 9/11 cases, dies at 92” (2026-10-28). scrippsnews.com/obituaries/alvin-k-hellerstein-a-federal-jud

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.