Loretta A. Preska has served as a U.S. District Judge in the Southern District of New York since 1992, appointed by President George H.W. Bush. She served as Chief Judge from 2009 to 2016. Her role in the Epstein case centered on one of its most publicly anticipated events: the unsealing of documents from the Giuffre v. Maxwell civil case (15-cv-07433).

The Giuffre v. Maxwell litigation, filed in 2015 and settled in 2017, produced extensive discovery including depositions, exhibits, and filings that referenced numerous prominent individuals. Much of this material was filed under seal. After Epstein's 2019 arrest and death, and Maxwell's 2020 arrest and 2021 conviction, media organizations and the public pressed for unsealing. Judge Preska inherited the unsealing proceedings and oversaw the complex process of determining which documents could be released.

In a series of rulings beginning in late 2023, Preska ordered the phased release of sealed materials. The first major tranche — approximately 943 pages — was released on January 3, 2024. Additional documents followed in subsequent tranches through early 2024. The releases contained deposition excerpts, flight logs, communications, and other materials that named individuals ranging from politicians and business leaders to household staff and alleged victims.

Preska's approach was methodical. She established a process for individuals named in the documents to file objections to unsealing, evaluated each objection, and issued detailed rulings explaining her reasoning. She generally held that the public interest in transparency outweighed individual privacy concerns, particularly for public figures, while exercising greater caution with individuals who may have been victims. Her rulings became some of the most widely covered federal court decisions of early 2024.

Court Orders / SDNY Records / Giuffre v. Maxwell Docket