Manhattan federal judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, whose nearly three decades on the bench took in the September 11 lawsuits, the prosecution of ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and a string of cases involving President Donald Trump, has died at the age of 92.
Hellerstein died on Wednesday morning, surrounded by his family, according to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. His funeral is scheduled for Thursday at Riverside Memorial Chapel in Manhattan. A court notice described his death as from natural causes, the Washington Examiner reported.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain called Hellerstein a distinguished jurist and praised his energetic and dedicated service to the court, which she said continued until his death. “He is greatly appreciated and will be sorely missed,” she said.
What happened
The court announced Hellerstein’s death on Wednesday 28 October. He was 92 and had remained an active judge into his tenth decade, a rarity on the federal bench, where most older judges take on lighter workloads or retire.
His death leaves his pending cases to be reassigned to other judges in the Manhattan court. The most closely watched of them is the prosecution of Maduro, whose trial has been scheduled for next June. The Associated Press reports that Judge Analisa Torres is taking over that case.
A career on the bench
Hellerstein was a New York native and a graduate of Columbia Law School. He served in the US Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and worked as a Manhattan litigator before President Bill Clinton appointed him to the federal bench in 1998. He moved to senior status in 2011 but kept a heavy caseload, and he was still presiding over hearings in the final weeks of his life.
Colleagues and lawyers described a judge with a quirky independent streak and strict courtroom discipline. He insisted that spectators wear pandemic-era masks for years after other judges had dropped the practice. The court said in a statement that he lived a life of commitment to public service and devotion to his community, and that his example and work ethic would continue to be a model for the court.
The Maduro case and what happens next
Just two weeks before his death, Hellerstein presided over the arraignment of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on torture charges added to their ongoing narco-terrorism conspiracy case. Maduro was captured alongside his wife in January in a surprise US military raid in Caracas.
At the arraignment, Maduro twice defied Hellerstein’s request to enter a plea. The judge then entered one himself, telling the courtroom that a plea of not guilty would be entered on behalf of Mr Maduro.
At Flores’ bail hearing on 8 October, Hellerstein coughed and struggled to speak at times, telling lawyers he had a voice problem but would keep going as long as he could be understood. He remained determined to preside over the trial of Maduro and Flores, which he had scheduled for next June.
Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, said he and his team were saddened to learn of the judge’s passing and offered their condolences to his family. The case will now proceed before a new judge, and any change of judge in a case of this size is closely watched, because the incoming judge must master a large record before trial.
The Trump cases
Hellerstein’s docket repeatedly placed him at the centre of litigation involving Trump. In August, in one of his last significant rulings, he rejected Trump’s bid to move his hush money case from state court to federal court and have it dismissed on presidential immunity grounds. It was the third time he had turned down such a request: the first came after Trump’s indictment in March 2023, and the second followed his conviction in May 2024 and a US Supreme Court ruling that presidents and former presidents cannot be prosecuted for official acts.
Hellerstein revisited the question after the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals said he had failed to consider important issues relevant to the request, while expressing no view on how he should rule. In his August decision, he wrote that paying hush money to an adult film star, or covering up an embarrassment, was not covered by presidential immunity. The case concerned a $130,000 payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels, at the heart of a state court conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
In 2020, Hellerstein ordered Trump’s estranged former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, released from prison after the Justice Department revoked his home confinement. Hellerstein ruled that the government’s action was retaliatory and a violation of the First Amendment, because it was aimed at stopping Cohen from publishing a book or speaking to the media.
He also ruled against the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. In a May 2025 decision, he barred removals under the proclamation for a group of detainees held in the Southern District of New York, finding that the administration had not established the invasion or predatory incursion needed to invoke the law.
The September 11 legacy
The work that most shaped Hellerstein’s reputation began in the aftermath of the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. He presided over dozens of wrongful death, injury and property damage lawsuits, an effort that stretched across two decades.
Some of his former clients had died in the attack, and lawyers say he showed great empathy to victims and their families, meeting them for hours in his chambers and rejecting settlement offers he considered too low. In March 2010, he rejected a proposed settlement that would have paid at least $575 million to thousands of people who fell ill working in the toxic ash of the trade center, acknowledging that he was breaking with tradition by intervening so directly. Most settlements are private, he explained at the time, but this one was different, because it was September 11.
Not every ruling pleased every side. In 2008, he ended an effort to force New York City’s government to keep searching for human remains in debris moved from ground zero to a Staten Island landfill, a decision that dismayed some families.
Other notable cases
Beyond the headline cases, Hellerstein’s courtroom produced a series of striking rulings. Last year, he oversaw the trial of Charlie Javice, founder of a financial aid startup, who was convicted of defrauding JPMorgan Chase out of $175 million by exaggerating her company’s customer base. In 2024, he presided over the trial of hedge fund founder Bill Hwang, convicted of fraud and market manipulation after the collapse of Archegos Capital Management cost banks billions of dollars.
In 2025, a jury in his court ordered French bank BNP Paribas to pay nearly $21 million for giving the Sudanese government access to the US financial system while it was engaged in atrocities two decades earlier. And in 2015, he ordered a New York City cable company to pay a Texas woman $229,500 for flooding her phone with 153 robocalls.
Timeline
- 1998: Clinton appoints Hellerstein to the Southern District of New York.
- 2001 onwards: Hellerstein presides over dozens of September 11 wrongful death, injury and property damage lawsuits.
- 2008: He ends the effort to force New York City to keep searching for human remains in ground zero debris.
- March 2010: He rejects a proposed $575 million settlement for workers sickened by trade center ash.
- 2011: Hellerstein moves to senior status but keeps a heavy caseload.
- 2015: He orders a cable company to pay $229,500 over 153 robocalls.
- 2020: He orders Michael Cohen released from prison, ruling the revocation of his home confinement was retaliatory.
- May 2024: A state court jury convicts Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
- May 2025: Hellerstein bars Alien Enemies Act removals for a group of detainees in his district.
- August 2026: He rejects Trump’s bid to move the hush money case to federal court for a third time.
- 8 October 2026: Hellerstein presides over Cilia Flores’ bail hearing, despite struggling to speak.
- Two weeks before his death: He presides over the arraignment of Maduro and Flores on added torture charges.
- 28 October 2026: Hellerstein dies at 92, surrounded by his family.
- 29 October 2026: His funeral is scheduled at Riverside Memorial Chapel in Manhattan.
- Next June: Maduro’s trial is scheduled to take place before a new judge.
Why it matters
Hellerstein’s death matters for three reasons. First, it removes one of the most experienced trial judges in the country at a moment when his court is handling cases that reach into presidential power, immigration enforcement and foreign affairs. Second, it changes the handling of the Maduro prosecution, one of the most politically sensitive criminal cases in the United States, just months before a scheduled trial. Third, it closes a judicial career that began before the September 11 attacks and ran through them, shaping how victims, workers and families were compensated and heard.
Courts have repeatedly shaped the course of American election disputes in recent years. Lhepen recently reported on the Justice Department’s California ballot order, another case in which judges and election officials have been drawn into questions about who can vote and how ballots are handled.
What happens next
The Manhattan court will reassign Hellerstein’s pending cases, including the Maduro prosecution, which is due for trial next June. His funeral takes place on Thursday in Manhattan. Tributes from the court have already framed his legacy in terms of stamina and independence: a judge who kept working into his nineties, who met victims’ families for hours, and who was willing to reject settlements and government arguments alike when he believed they fell short.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Judge Alvin Hellerstein? He was a Manhattan federal judge on the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1998. He presided over September 11 lawsuits, the prosecution of Nicolas Maduro and several cases involving Donald Trump.
How old was Hellerstein when he died? He was 92. He died on Wednesday 28 October 2026, surrounded by his family, according to the court.
What happens to the Maduro case now? The case will be reassigned to another judge. The Associated Press reports that Judge Analisa Torres is taking over the case, and the trial remains scheduled for next June.
What was Hellerstein’s most famous ruling? There is no single answer. His September 11 work, including the rejection of the 2010 settlement for sickened workers, shaped his reputation, while his repeated rulings against moving Trump’s hush money case to federal court drew the most political attention.
When is Hellerstein’s funeral? His funeral is scheduled for Thursday 29 October at Riverside Memorial Chapel in Manhattan.
Why did Hellerstein keep working into his nineties? He took senior status in 2011 but kept a robust docket, unlike most older judges who reduce their workload. He was still presiding over hearings in the final weeks of his life.
Related coverage
Hellerstein’s death comes during a busy period for America’s courts, which have been drawn into election disputes, immigration enforcement and high-profile prosecutions. Readers following the US courts can find more in the US News section, which carries Lhepen’s recent American coverage, including the Justice Department’s California ballot order.