NEW YORK: Alvin Hellerstein, the US judge overseeing the case against deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, is a no-nonsense 92-year-old with a long list of high-profile cases on his CV.
But as one of the oldest US federal judges — born in 1933 — some are unsure he is best suited to preside over what could be a prolonged trial for Maduro on drug trafficking charges.
“The issue of age cannot be ignored,” Shira Scheindlin, a former federal judge in New York, told AFP.
Still, she praised Hellerstein as a “very smart and savvy” courtroom operator.
His lengthy career includes overseeing the civil cases arising from Al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington, often rejecting deals he saw as unfair to complainants.
