World Trade Center • In 2003, Hellerstein agreed to hear a consolidated master case against three airlines,
ICTS International NV, and Pinkerton's
airport security firms, the
World Trade Center owners, and
Boeing Co., the aircraft manufacturer. The case was brought by people injured in the
September 11 attacks, representatives of those who died, and entities that suffered property damage. In September 2004, just before the three-year
statute of limitations expired, the insurers for the World Trade Center filed suit against
American Airlines,
United Airlines, and Pinkerton's airport security firm, alleging their negligence allowed the planes to be hijacked. • On January 12, 2006, Hellerstein dismissed the last remaining property-damage claim against New York City, while leaving pending several other suits against other parties, among them the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. According to
Reuters, "[s]ix insurers sought repayment from the city for expenses arising from the collapse of a 47-story office building near the Twin Towers"; Hellerstein ruled New York had
sovereign immunity. • The World Trade Center first responders (
e.g., police and firefighters) and the city government clashed over payments for health costs of first responders who had survived the collapse of the Twin Towers. On October 17, 2006, Hellerstein rejected New York City's motion to dismiss lawsuits that requested health payments to the first responders. • On July 7, 2008, Hellerstein ruled against a group of relatives of 9/11 victims and
ground zero recovery workers who had sorted through debris from the collapsed Twin Towers. The group accused New York City of dishonoring human remains that became part of the total debris shipped to city landfills. The judge stated that "the city is not required to re-sift through debris from ground zero in search of bits of human remains and remove it to a space where a cemetery might be built (thereby leaving the material from ground zero at
Fresh Kills landfills). Plaintiffs have no property right in an undifferentiated, unidentifiable mass of dirt that may or may not contain the remains of plaintiffs' loved ones. Not every wrong can be addressed through the judicial process." Hellerstein urged the city to build a memorial and nature reserve at the site. Victims' families' counsel Norman Siegel criticized the ruling: "We are not prepared to leave hundreds of human remains of 9/11 victims on top of a garbage dump as their final resting place."
"Hope" poster matter Hellerstein presided over the
Barack Obama "Hope" poster case.
Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the poster, sued the
Associated Press. He sought to establish that his Hope poster did not infringe the AP's copyright of a shot taken by AP freelancer
Mannie Garcia. The AP countersued, accusing Fairey of infringement. According to an article co-written by Fairey, "a few days after" his lawsuit was filed, Fairey realized that it contained an error, describing the wrong Garcia photograph as Fairey's source, but Fairey "decided to conceal his mistake" for about eight months, including by "destroy[ing] some documents and fabricat[ing] others."
Michael Cohen prison release On July 23, 2020, Hellerstein granted a
temporary restraining order in favor of President
Donald Trump's former attorney
Michael Cohen, ordering that Cohen be released from prison into home confinement. Cohen had argued that prison officials were preventing his transfer to home confinement out of retaliation for Cohen's refusal to agree not to write a book or contact the media while in home confinement.
U.S. military detainees On December 20, 2004, Hellerstein said he would deny a government request to delay a review of whether certain
Central Intelligence Agency internal files related to
Iraq should be made public. On June 3, 2005, Hellerstein ordered the government to release four videos from
Abu Ghraib prison and dozens of photographs from the same collection as photos that touched off the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal a year prior. Hellerstein said the 144 pictures and videos could be turned over in redacted form to protect the victims' identities. The judge ordered the release after he viewed eight of the photos. They were given to the Army by a military policeman assigned to Abu Ghraib. On September 29, 2005, in
ACLU v. Department of Defense, Hellerstein ordered the release of 87 more photographs and videotapes. In January and September 2017, Hellerstein ordered the release of additional government documents, including those referred to in the
Senate torture report.
Criminal case of Donald Trump After President
Donald Trump was indicted on
state criminal charges by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Trump
removed his criminal case to federal court, where it was assigned to Judge Hellerstein. Judge Hellerstein remanded the criminal case back to state court. After Trump was convicted in state court, he again removed the case to federal court before Judge Hellerstein, and Hellerstein again remanded the case back to state court. Trump appealed, and the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit assigned the case to Judge Hellerstein to consider whether Trump's conviction should be removed to federal court due to the law of presidential immunity.
Bill Hwang Judge Hellerstein presided over the trial of investor
Bill Hwang, and on November 20, 2024, sentenced him to 18 years in prison for his fraudulent scheme at
Archegos Capital Management, which caused billions of dollars in losses to banks and contributed to the collapse of
Credit Suisse.
Alien Enemies Act In 2025, Judge Hellerstein ruled that President
Donald Trump's invocation of the
Alien Enemies Act to
deport Venezuelans was invalid and unconstitutional. He held that these individuals must receive
due process before being deported, and that the requirements of the
Alien Enemies Act were not satisfied by the President's proclamation.
Charlie Javice Judge Hellerstein presided over the trial of startup founder
Charlie Javice, and on September 29, 2025, sentenced her to seven years in prison for defrauding
JPMorgan Chase out of $175 million.
Nicolás Maduro Judge Hellerstein is currently presiding over the trial of Venezuelan president
Nicolás Maduro, and his wife
Cilia Flores, following the
2026 United States strikes in Venezuela which comes nearly six years after the federal charges were filed under
United States v. Maduro, et al.. ==See also==