Jeffrey Toobin says no here:
There is no simple procedural mechanism for lawyers, or the public, to challenge the fitness of judges. A culture of deference — and the fear, especially among active lawyers, of courting retribution — limits most inquiries into the abilities of aging judges. The parties can ask a judge to recuse himself for bias, but that is not the issue here. What tends to happen, rather, is that peers tend to step in informally and gently encourage a judicial colleague to step aside. The chief judge of the Southern District of New York, Laura Taylor Swain, should make such an overture to Judge Hellerstein if he does not himself recognize the need to face reality.
We've had the issue come up in our District three times that I can think of... I wonder how they will handle it in NY.
8 comments:
Unless there is proof the judge is mentally impaired, this is not an issue. I am curious to know how many trials he presided over in the past year and what was his work load like? Being in one's 90's is not that odd these days. Senator Chuck Grassley is 92 and has not lost a step. I saw Pat Buchanan on Youtube last night. He is 87. Very lucid. For what it is worth, and not to be morbid, by the time Maduro faces the music, I think Judge Hellerstein will have met his maker.
Wish it was being tried in SDFL.
Wow!! You mean a high publicity criminal trial being held in Miami?
I can't speak about Judge Hellerstein, but Toobin is correct to raise the issue of old judges who can't competently do their jobs because of their old age. If you've practiced in this district for long enough, you've seen it (and it's been an ongoing saga for a while with a judge who had to be removed by her colleagues in the Federal Circuit). The whole point of being appointed for life is supposedly to insulate the judge from political persuasion; it is not, as many judges seemingly believe it to be, a mandate to serve for life.
There is an article in this morning NY Post that the judge was once observed falling asleep during a trial. https://nypost.com/2026/01/07/business/judge-overseeing-nicolas-maduro-case-allegedly-fell-asleep-during-charlie-javice-trial/. I guess the long knives are out. But then again, at least he has something in common with every other judge on the bench.
I think the southern district of New York has better security and if they had it in Miami getting around Miami would be even more of a nightmare.
I think the reason why they are having it in New York is better security
My guess is the reason they are having it in New York is because that is where jurisdiction and venue lie, and that is where the case was charged.
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