Esther Salas | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of New Jersey | |
| Assumed office June 14, 2011 | |
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Katharine Sweeney Hayden |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1968-12-29)December 29, 1968 (age 57) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 son (deceased) |
| Education | Rutgers University, New Brunswick (BA) Rutgers University, Newark (JD) |
Esther Salas (born December 29, 1968) is aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of New Jersey sitting inNewark, New Jersey. She previously served as aUnited States magistrate judge of the same court from 2006 until her confirmation as a district judge in 2011. Salas is the firstHispanic woman to serve as a United States magistrate judge and as a United States District Judge in the District of New Jersey.[1]
Salas is fromMonterey Park, California,[1] and is the daughter of a Cuban mother and a Mexican father.[2] Her father isJewish and her mother isCatholic.[3] At the age of five, she, her mother, Aurelia Salas, along with her siblings, moved toUnion City, New Jersey. Though she lost contact with her father when she moved from the West Coast, she would later reconnect with him during the course of the background check she underwent upon being appointed a federal judge. Growing upindigent, Salas recalls having to translate for her mother at the welfare office, and later helping friends with various problems facing their lives, an activity that led to her pursuit of a career focusing on human services.
Salas attendedEmerson High School in Union City, where her extracurricular activities included cheerleading.[1] After graduating from high school in 1987, she attendedRutgers University–New Brunswick, where she lived on campus and was active in clubs and activities.[4] Salas graduated from Rutgers in 1991 and in 1994 fromRutgers University School of Law in Newark with a Juris Doctor.[1][2][5] She credits her success during her education and during her later professional life to the Minority Student Program.[1][6]
Following law school graduation, Salas served as alaw clerk to Eugene J. Codey Jr., of theSuperior Court of New Jersey. From 1995 to 1997, Salas worked for Garces & Grabler, P.C., where she practiced criminal matters in superior and municipal courts. Between 1997 and 2006, she served as anAssistant Federal Public Defender for the District of New Jersey, representing indigent defendants in federal matters.[1][2] Salas served as president of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey from 2001 to 2002,[3] and as president of the Hispanic Bar Foundation of New Jersey.[2][6] She has also been a member of the Governor's Hispanic Advisory Committee for Policy Development, the Supreme Court Committee on Minority Concerns, and the Supreme Court Committee on Women in the Courts.[2][6]
In 2006, Salas was selected from a group of 99 applicants asUnited States magistrate judge for theDistrict of New Jersey, becoming the first Latina in that position,[2] in which she served for five years.[1] On August 31, 2010, SenatorsFrank Lautenberg andRobert Menendez announced they would recommend to PresidentBarack Obama that Salas be nominated as a federal district judge on the same court.[7] Obama nominated her on December 1, 2010, to a seat vacated byKatharine Sweeney Hayden who assumedsenior status on May 30, 2010.[5] TheAmerican Bar Association'sStanding Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which rates the qualifications of federal judicial nominees, unanimously rated Salas "well qualified" for the judgeship (the committee's highest rating).[8] The nomination expired without Senate action at the end of the111th Congress.[9] Obama renominated Salas on January 5, 2011, at the beginning of the112th Congress, and the Senate confirmed her byvoice vote on June 14, 2011 and she received her commission the same day,[10] making her the first Latina on the District Court of New Jersey.[1][6][11][12]
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has a busy docket; according to a 2018 profile, Salas "presides over as many as 485 civil matters and 50 criminal cases" at any given time.[3]
Salas is married to attorney Mark A. Anderl (born 1957) since 1993, with whom she had a son, Daniel Anderl (July 13, 2000 – July 19, 2020).[1] She was acriminal defense attorney and formerEssex County assistant prosecutor.[3][21] Salas and her family are Catholic.[22]
On July 19, 2020, an assailant targeted Salas's family at their home. Daniel, aged 20, opened the door when the assailant knocked. The assailant then opened fire, killing Daniel at the scene. His father Mark was also shot multiple times and left in a critical but stable condition.[23][24][25] Salas was in the basement at the time of the attack and was not injured. TheFederal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation into the attack on Salas' family home in conjunction with theU.S. Marshals Service and local law enforcement.[21]
The following day, the FBI identified 72-year-old attorneyRoy Den Hollander as the primary suspect; Den Hollander was found dead from aself-inflicted gunshot wound in the town ofRockland inupstate New York.[21][26][27] Den Hollander was a self-describedantifeminist previously known for filing unsuccessful lawsuits against "ladies night" promotions at bars and nightclubs, as well as suingColumbia University for offeringwomen's studies classes.[21][28] Den Hollander had appeared before Salas in connection with a lawsuit he brought challenging the military's male-onlydraft.[26][29] In various writings, Den Hollander ranted about his hatred of women, used racist and sexist terms to disparage Salas, and spoke of his personal grievances.[27] Den Hollander described himself as a "men's rights" activist but was ejected from theNational Coalition for Men and is also a suspect in the shooting death of a men's rights lawyer,Marc Angelucci, at his home inCrestline, California, earlier the same month.[30]
Salas was interviewed for a60 Minutes report in February 2021 about this attack, in which60 Minutes also revealed the discovery of the gunman's planning for an attack on JusticeSonia Sotomayor.[31]
The shooting led to the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act of 2021, endorsed by theSenate Judiciary Committee on December 12 of that year.[32][33][34] The Act was signed into law byPresident Joe Biden on December 23, 2022.[35] TheNew Jersey Legislature passed a state law equivalent, "Daniel's Law," (P.L. 2021, c. 371) in 2021.[36]
TheDiocese of Metuchen has begun an inquiry into the possible canonization of Daniel.[37]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of New Jersey 2011–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
