Maduro Judge Is 92-Year-Old 'Thorn in Trump's Side'

The judge overseeing Nicolas Maduro's criminal case seems to be as notable for his age as for his refusal to bend to expectations. Alvin Hellerstein, a 92-year-old federal judge in Manhattan appointed by President Bill Clinton just a month after Google became a registered company, handled Monday's arraignment of the deposed Venezuelan leader and is expected to preside over any eventual trial, reports Politico and USA Today. Lawyers who've appeared before him describe a jurist who is fiercely independent, sometimes idiosyncratic, and largely unconcerned with how his decisions are received. "He tries very hard to do the right thing," one former federal prosecutor tells Politico. Another calls him "old-school" and bluntly notes "he doesn't give a s--- what anyone thinks about him."

CBS News calls him "a thorn in Trump's side." He ruled against the president's efforts to shift the Manhattan hush-money case involving Stormy Daniels to federal court—rulings that were partly reversed on appeal. He also temporarily blocked the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants from the Southern District of New York with minimal judicial oversight. A Bronx native and Columbia Law School graduate, Hellerstein also supervised more than 10,000 lawsuits from 9/11 responders and their families and, in 2012, pressed Paris Hilton and a business partner to resolve a royalties fight over a lingerie line. He also rejected proposed civil settlements from Harvey Weinstein, per Fox News.

Maduro landed in Hellerstein's courtroom because the judge was assigned in 2011 to a related case involving a co-defendant; the former Venezuelan president was added to that indictment in 2020. Monday's hearing, in which Hellerstein cut off Maduro mid-speech, is a "perfect example" of the short leash he gives those in his courtroom, defense attorney Louis Gelormino tells Fox. Given the complexity and diplomatic sensitivity, observers compare the Maduro case to the US prosecution of former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, whose trial began 20 months after his capture and lasted seven months. If that case is any guide, proceedings before Hellerstein could stretch on for years. Hellerstein, however, has a reputation for pushing lawyers to move quickly, per Politico.