Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein Dies at 92

Alvin K. Hellerstein, a federal judge in Manhattan who handled major cases involving President Trump, former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and the 9/11 attacks, died Wednesday morning. He was 92.

Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain confirmed the death in a statement, noting that Hellerstein died surrounded by family. His funeral is set for Thursday at Riverside Memorial Chapel in Manhattan. Swain described him as a distinguished jurist whose energetic service continued until his death.

Hellerstein remained active on the bench until weeks before his passing. Two weeks prior to his death, he presided over the arraignment of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Maduro, captured in a US military raid in Caracas in January, faced new torture charges added to a narco-terrorism conspiracy case.

The judge took direct control of the proceedings when Maduro twice refused to enter a plea. Hellerstein interjected that a plea of not guilty would be entered on Maduro's behalf. At Flores's bail hearing on Oct. 8, the judge struggled to speak due to a voice problem but insisted on presiding over the trial scheduled for next June.

Barry Pollack, Maduro's attorney, offered condolences to the judge's family. Analisa Torres, the judge now taking over the case, previously served on a state bench in Manhattan and has been a federal judge since 2013. She was part of an international monitoring delegation for Venezuela's 2006 presidential election.

In August, Hellerstein issued one of his last major rulings against President Trump. He rejected the president's bid to move his hush money case to federal court and dismiss it based on presidential immunity. The judge denied the request for the third time, citing a $130,000 payoff to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.

Hellerstein wrote that paying hush money to an adult film star is not subsumed in presidential immunity. The Second US Circuit Court of Appeals had previously ruled he erred by failing to consider relevant issues but expressed no view on how he should rule. In 2020, he also freed Michael Cohen from prison, ruling that the Justice Department acted in retaliation for Cohen's efforts to publish a book.

A New York native and Columbia Law School graduate, Hellerstein served in the US Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps before working as a litigator. President Bill Clinton appointed him to the federal bench in 1998. He kept a busy docket after moving to senior status in 2011. He also presided over the trials of Charlie Javice and Bill Hwang, and a 2025 case where BNP Paribas was ordered to pay nearly $21 million for Sudan-related banking actions.