Reuters — The 92-year-old judge overseeing the Nicolas Maduro case has said he displays a Hebrew scripture from the Torah on the wall of his Manhattan chambers: “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof” — “Justice, justice you shall pursue.”

An Orthodox Jew who has been on the bench for almost three decades, US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has been outspoken about how he tries to promote fairness 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 on Monday to narcoterrorism charges.

“That’s my job, and that’s my intent,” Hellerstein said.

Maduro’s defense lawyer, Barry Pollack, said at Monday’s hearing he will make “voluminous” pretrial filings seeking dismissal of the case.

Some legal analysts have said Hellerstein’s age could become an issue in the case, especially if it drags on.

“The practical reality is that this case will be litigated for a while,” said former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani. “Hellerstein may not be in a position to see it through to the end.”

Hellerstein did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Hellerstein said in a 2020 podcast that he schedules sentencing hearings for Fridays, so that he can spend Shabbat — the Jewish sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall —........

© The Times of Israel