--- title: "Alvin K. Hellerstein | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/alvin-k-hellerstein" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Alvin K. Hellerstein U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York - State: New York - Role: Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, S.D. New York, 1998-2011 - Senior United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, appointed in 1998 by President Bill Clinton and elevated to senior status in 2011 - Joined Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP in New York in 1960, became a partner in 1969, and later co‐headed the firm’s litigation department - Law clerk to Judge Edmund Palmieri (SDNY) from 1956–1957 and held the role of a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1957–1960 - Law clerk, Hon. Edmund Palmieri, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1956-1957 ### Education - Columbia Law School in, serving as editor of the Columbia Law Review — J.D. (1956) - Columbia College in — B.A. (1954) - Columbia University ### Additional information - Private practice, New York City, 1960-1998 - U.S. Army, JAG Corps, 1957-1960 - Born December 28, 1933 in New York City, Hellerstein is an Orthodox Jew who graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1950. - Date of birth: 1933-01-01 - He also held the role of President and Chairman of the Board of Jewish Education - Birth place: New York, NY ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390806) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390806) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390806) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1421/alvin-k-hellerstein/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1421/alvin-k-hellerstein/) - [Wikidata: Alvin Hellerstein](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4738117) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/alvin-k-hellerstein", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/alvin-k-hellerstein", "name": "Alvin K. 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Hellerstein", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/alvin-k-hellerstein" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 31 | 4 | Not available | 4 | | 2y | 138 | 65 | 3.7 | 65 | | 5y | 514 | 397 | 5.4 | 397 | | 10y | 1238 | 1112 | 6.4 | 1112 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [SDNY and EDNY — Joint Local Civil and Criminal Rules](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/ny-shared-set-201c11a4597834a9a953) — Federal district-court proceedings only. Civil and criminal sections have distinct scope and district-specific exceptions. Not Bankruptcy Court rules. [Official source](https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/local_rules/2026-01-02%20-%20EDNY%20and%20SDNY%20Joint%20Local%20Rules%20As%20Amended.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.