Judge Alvin Hellerstein, the veteran US federal judge overseeing the criminal case against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, has died aged 92, officials in New York confirmed.
Hellerstein’s death came while he was also resisting Donald Trump’s attempts to move his New York criminal case from state court to the federal courthouse in Manhattan.
He had served on the federal bench for nearly three decades after being appointed by former president Bill Clinton at the age of 64. During that time, he handled cases linked to the September 11 attacks, Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein.
Hellerstein also presided over the trial of Ponzi schemer David Hu and ruled last year against Mr Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act in a case involving the deportation of Venezuelans.
Hellerstein and the Trump criminal case
In a series of rulings, Hellerstein rejected arguments from Mr Trump’s lawyers that the facts underlying his New York “hush money” prosecution involved official acts carried out as president.
Mr Trump was found guilty by a state jury over reimbursements made to his former lawyer Michael Cohen for a payment to adult film star Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
“Reimbursing Cohen for advancing hush money to Stephanie Clifford cannot be considered the performance of a constitutional duty,” Hellerstein wrote. “Falsifying business records to hide such reimbursement, and to transform the reimbursement into a business expense for Trump and income to Cohen, likewise does not relate to a presidential duty.”
After a 2024 Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, Hellerstein was ordered to reconsider the issue by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He ruled against Mr Trump again on August 28, writing that “the trial evidence does not infringe on presidential immunity”.
Maduro case unlikely to face major delay
Hellerstein had overseen proceedings connected to the Maduro case since 2014 and formally took on the matter in January, days after turning 92. His appointment drew criticism after reporters observed him briefly appearing to fall asleep during the trial of Charlie Javice, a 32-year-old chief executive convicted of defrauding JPMorgan in the 175 million dollar sale of her start-up.
Barry Pollack, a lawyer for Mr Maduro, said: “We were saddened to learn of Judge Hellerstein’s passing and offer our condolences to his family.”
Duncan Levin, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor, said the judge’s death was not expected to cause significant disruption to the case. “There’s no automatic pause, and there’s really no fixed period of delay,” he said, adding that a successor could retain existing dates or alter them as needed.
