Judge Who Defeated Trump's Immunity Bid Dies at 92

Alvin Hellerstein, the federal judge who oversaw the criminal trial of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and repeatedly rejected Donald Trump's attempts to move his New York state case to federal court, has died. A spokesperson for the Southern District of New York confirmed the death on Wednesday. He was 92.

At the time of his passing, Hellerstein was presiding over the Maduro trial. He had also been engaged in a legal dispute with Trump, who sought to transfer his criminal case from state to federal jurisdiction. Hellerstein had faced criticism from some observers for taking on the Maduro case in January, just days after his 92nd birthday. That decision came months after reporters noted him appearing to briefly fall asleep during the trial of a 32-year-old CEO who was convicted of defrauding JPMorgan in the $175 million sale of her startup.

Barry Pollack, an attorney representing Maduro, sent a text message to CBS News expressing the legal team's sadness. "We were saddened to learn of Judge Hellerstein's passing and offer our condolences to his family," Pollack wrote.

Hellerstein joined the federal bench in 1998 at age 64 after a nomination from former President Bill Clinton. Over the following three decades, he handled major lawsuits stemming from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He also presided over litigation related to evidence of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, a federal suit against a convicted sex offender, and the trial of Ponzi schemer David Hu. Last year, he ruled against Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act in a deportation case involving Venezuelans.

Hellerstein became a focal point in Trump's legal battles during his final years on the bench. He consistently denied Trump's lawyers' arguments that the facts central to his criminal case involved official acts performed under the color of his office. Trump's case centered on reimbursements made to former attorney Michael Cohen for a payment to adult film star Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, shortly before the 2016 presidential election. A state jury found Trump guilty in that case.

"Reimbursing Cohen for advancing hush money to Stephanie Clifford cannot be considered the performance of a constitutional duty," Hellerstein wrote in one opinion. "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."

A 2024 Supreme Court ruling forced Hellerstein to reconsider his position on presidential immunity. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ordered him to reexamine the immunity arguments based on that landmark decision. On August 28, Hellerstein ruled against Trump one final time, stating that "the trial evidence does not infringe on presidential immunity."

Although Hellerstein had handled matters connected to the Venezuela situation since 2014, his death is not expected to cause major delays in the Maduro trial. Duncan Levin, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor, noted that there is no automatic pause or 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," Levin said. He added that reading large volumes of paperwork is a core qualification for judges.