By Jan Wolfe
Jan 6 (Reuters) – The 92-year-old judge overseeing the case of Nicolas Maduro said he displays a Hebrew scripture from the Torah on the wall of his Manhattan chambers: “Tzedek, tzedek tirdf” — “Justice, justice you shall follow.”
An Orthodox Jew who has been on the bench for nearly three decades, US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has been clear about how he tries to promote justice and the impact of his faith on his judicial philosophy.
Hellerstein opened the court hearing on Monday by saying he wants a fair trial for the ousted Venezuelan leader, who pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism charges on Monday.
“That’s my job, and that’s my intention,” Hellerstein said.
ON THE SEVENTH DAY CONTEMPLATE
Hellerstein said in a 2020 podcast that he schedules sentencing hearings for Friday, so he can spend Shabbat — the Jewish Sabbath from sundown Friday to nightfall Saturday — reflecting on whether the prison sentence he handed down was appropriate.
Hellerstein has ruled against President Donald Trump in recent years. He also spoke out when he believes that lawyers are not the best at serving their clients.
In a 2013 law review article, he wrote that some lawyers were “angry” and accused him of “abuse of power” when he rejected a $675 million deal negotiated between New York City and injured first responders who rushed to the World Trade Center after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Hellerstein concluded that, while no statute or rule clearly addressed whether the agreement needed his blessing, he had inherent authority to reject it as inadequate.
The lawyers ended up presenting Hellerstein with a new settlement that added $125 million to the victims.
Hellerstein “is a man of strong convictions and seeks to find a way to harmonize the law with his understanding of justice,” said Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor who observed Hellerstein on the bench.
Hellerstein spoke candidly about how his Jewish values affect his decision-making.
“As a judge, and as a Jew, I consider that everything I do reflects God and affects His image,” he wrote in the 2013 article.
In the 2020 podcast, Hellerstein said he believed he was “the first Orthodox child employed by a Gentile or Jewish firm in New York City.”
“I’m happy to say that there were others after me, and some credited me with breaking the precedent,” said Hellerstein.
Hellerstein already had a long career before President Bill Clinton nominated him to the federal bench in 1998.
From 1957 to 1960, Hellerstein served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, the legal branch of the United States Army.
In 1960, Hellerstein joined the now-defunct firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, where he ended up practicing for most of his career.
A STORY OF BREAKING TRUMP’S LEGAL AMBITIONS
In a high-profile case in 2020, Hellerstein ordered the release of Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, after Trump’s Justice Department tried to revoke his house arrest and return him to prison.
Hellerstein concluded that the Trump administration was retaliating against Cohen for writing a book.
In 2023, Hellerstein denied a request by Trump to bring his New York criminal case regarding the payment of hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to federal court. Trump was tried in state court and convicted of 34 felonies.
In May 2025, Hellerstein rejected an effort by the Trump administration to use a wartime law to send alleged gang members to Venezuela, saying the men had been improperly denied their day in court.
“This is the United States of America,” he said. “People are being thrown out of the country because of their tattoos.”
(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller)