Manhattan Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein Dies at 92

Alvin K. Hellerstein, the federal judge in Manhattan who handled major legal battles involving the 9/11 attacks and President Donald Trump, died Wednesday at the age of 92.

Edward Friedland, the executive director of the federal courts for the Southern District of New York, confirmed the death. The cause of death was not immediately released. Hellerstein served on the federal bench for nearly three decades, a tenure marked by strict courtroom discipline and independent rulings.

Just two weeks before his death, Hellerstein presided over a hearing in Manhattan related to the conspiracy charge against captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. That case has now been reassigned to Judge Analisa Torres, according to a court spokesman.

Hellerstein was appointed to the federal bench in 1998 by President Bill Clinton. He served as a district judge until 2011, when he assumed senior status. Before his judicial career, he worked in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and as a litigation attorney in Manhattan.

His most defining work involved the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. For two decades, he oversaw dozens of lawsuits involving wrongful death, injuries, and property damage. Attorneys noted that he displayed deep empathy for victims and their families, often holding them in his office for hours and rejecting what he viewed as insufficient settlement offers.

In 2008, he ended an initiative to force the city to continue searching for human remains in debris moved from Ground Zero to a landfill in Staten Island. That decision drew sharp criticism from some who had hoped the search would continue.

Hellerstein was known for his idiosyncratic style and firm control of his courtroom. He required attendees to wear masks for more than two years after the pandemic, longer than many other judges. He also rejected a request from President Trump in August to vacate his conviction in the hush money case.

That August ruling was the third time Hellerstein denied Trump's bid to transfer the case from state to federal court. He also rejected the argument that presidential immunity required the case to be dismissed. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals had ordered him to reconsider his previous decision, noting he had overlooked important questions but stating they had no opinion on how he should rule.

In 2020, he ordered the release of Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, after the Department of Justice revoked his house arrest to block his book deal and media appearances. Hellerstein ruled the move was a retaliatory violation of the First Amendment. In 2015, he ordered a New York cable company to pay a Texas woman $229,500 for 153 robocalls.