Judge Alison J. Nathan (now Circuit Judge Nathan) was the U.S. District Judge who presided over the Ghislaine Maxwell case in the Southern District of New York.
Her Role: Judge Nathan presided over Maxwell’s trial, which began in November 2021 and concluded with a guilty verdict on December 29, 2021. She sentenced Maxwell to 20 years in federal prison in June 2022.
Maxwell Sentencing: At the sentencing, Judge Nathan rejected Maxwell’s request for leniency, stating that Maxwell had played an active role in the abuse and not merely a passive one, and that the 20-year sentence was appropriate given the severity and duration of the crimes.
Juror Controversy: After the verdict, a juror publicly discussed sharing personal experiences with sexual abuse during deliberations which Maxwell’s defense argued was improper. Judge Nathan oversaw proceedings on the motion for a new trial, which she denied.
Elevation: Judge Nathan was subsequently nominated and confirmed as a Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit the court that later heard Maxwell’s appeal and denied it in 2024.
Her sentencing of Maxwell was widely seen as one of the more significant judicial accountability moments in the Epstein case.