Loretta A. Preska (b. 1949) is a senior United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1992. She served as Chief Judge from 2009 to 2016 and assumed senior status in 2017. Judge Preska is best known in the Epstein context for presiding over the defamation lawsuit Virginia Giuffre v. Ghislaine Maxwell and ordering the unsealing of thousands of pages of documents.

Judge Preska presided over the high-profile defamation lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell. Following media requests, particularly from the Miami Herald and reporter Julie K. Brown, Preska ordered the release of sealed deposition transcripts, exhibits, and court filings in 2019 and 2020. These documents provided crucial details about Epstein's network and operations, including testimony from Maxwell and other witnesses.

On December 18, 2023, Judge Preska ordered the unsealing of documents identifying approximately 150 people connected to Jeffrey Epstein, released in early January 2024. The unsealing released nearly 1,000 pages of depositions and statements, providing public access to information that had been sealed for years. Her rulings balanced privacy concerns against the public interest in transparency.

Sources

Wikipedia, Loretta A. Preska; The Daily Beast, Preska unsealing orders; Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press coverage; CBS12 coverage of document releases; Le Monde, January 2024 release coverage; Law & Crime, unsealing coverage