Police are investigating after a judge on New York state's highest court was found dead in the Hudson River Wednesday afternoon.

NYPD officials say Sheila Abdus-Salaam was found dead by police near West 132nd Street around 1:45 p.m.

She was reported missing on Tuesday.

Officials say she had no obvious signs of trauma. They are working to determine a cause of death.

Abdus-Salaam was the first African-American woman to serve on the Court of Appeals, New York State's highest court. She was appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2013.

She was previously elected to the State Supreme Court in 1993.

She was also a staff attorney for Brooklyn Legal Services, a lawyer for the New York City Office of Labor Services, a civil court judge and criminal court judge.

Sources say Abdus-Salaam's first husband was Muslim, but she never converted to Islam.

Sheila Abdus-Salaam was 65 years old.</s>A judge on New York state’s highest court was found dead in the Hudson River in Manhattan on Wednesday, police said.

The body of Sheila Abdus-Salaam, a judge on the New York Court of Appeals, was discovered in the river near West 132nd Street around 1:35 p.m.

Ms. Abdus-Salaam, the first African-American woman to be appointed to the state...</s>A highly respected judge — and the first black woman to serve on New York State’s highest court — was found dead Wednesday afternoon, New York police said.

NYPD Harbor Unit officers pulled the body of Sheila Abdus-Salaam, 65, of West 131st Street in Harlem out of the Hudson River near 135th street at about 1:45 p.m. , the NYPD said.

An associate justice on the state’s Court of Appeals, Abdus-Salaam was pronounced dead by emergency service personnel after she was found unresponsive and unconscious.

It was unclear Wednesday how she died and a medical examiner was performing an autopsy to determine the cause of her death. A law enforcement source who didn’t want to be identified said police are initially considering the judge’s death as a possible suicide.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo nominated Abdus-Salaam for a slot on the state Court of Appeals in 2013. In a statement Wednesday, the governor called her “a trailblazing jurist whose life in public service was in pursuit of a more fair and more just New York for all.”

“As the first African-American woman to be appointed to the State’s Court of Appeals, she was a pioneer. Through her writings, her wisdom and her unshakable moral compass, she was a force for good whose legacy will be felt for years to come,” Cuomo said.

“I was proud to appoint her to the state’s highest court and am deeply saddened by her passing,” the statement said.

Abdus-Salaam, a Washington, D.C., native and 1974 graduate of Barnard College, graduated from Columbia University Law School in 1977 and started a career as a staff attorney at East Brooklyn Legal Services Corp., according to her profile on the state Office of Court Administration’s website.

She had also worked for the New York State Department of Law as an assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights and Real Estate Financing bureaus until 1988, when she became general counsel for the New York City Office of Labor Services, according to the profile. In 1991, she was elected to the New York City Civil Court bench.

She was elected to the state Supreme Court in Manhattan in 1993 and served in various capacities until 2009, when she was appointed to the state Appellate Division by then-Gov. David Paterson.

Cuomo tapped her in 2013 after the death in November 2012 of Judge Theodore Jones Jr.

When Abdus-Salaam was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2013, Vincent Bonventre, an Albany Law School professor and longtime court analyst, said: “It’s hard to find anyone who seriously questions the qualifications of Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam to sit on New York’s highest court.”

She said she was humbled by the appointment.

“I am honored to be nominated by Governor Cuomo to serve on the New York State Court of Appeals,” she said in the news release announcing her nomination in April 2013. “This nomination presents me with an opportunity to continue to serve New Yorkers, and advocate for justice and fairness here in New York State.”

News of her death shocked colleagues who recalled a fine jurist. “She was a lovely, genteel lady,” said former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman. “This is a shock, what more is there to say?”

Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said “Sheila Abdus-Salaam was a groundbreaking jurist whose distinguished service on the Court of Appeals, the New York State Supreme Court, as a public defender and public servant made our communities stronger and more just.”</s>The body of a New York Court of Appeals judge, Sheila Abdus-Salaam, washed up on the side of the Hudson River, according to a report. Abdus-Salaam, 65, was discovered on the Manhattan side of the river Wednesday afternoon, the New York Post reported, citing police sources.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Washington Examiner.</s>Associate Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the first African-American woman to be appointed to New York's Court of Appeals, was found dead on Wednesday in the Hudson River.

She had been reported missing from her home in Harlem.

"Officers with the New York Police Department's Harbor Unit responded about 1:45 p.m. to a report of a person floating by the shore near West 132nd Street in Upper Manhattan. "Judge Abdus-Salaam, 65, was taken to a pier on the Hudson River and was pronounced dead by paramedics shortly after 2 p.m. "The police were investigating how she ended up in the river, and it was not clear how long Judge Abdus-Salaam, who lived nearby in Harlem, had been missing. "There were no signs of trauma on her body, the police said. She was fully clothed. "A law enforcement official said investigators had found no signs of criminality. Her husband identified her body."



Abdus-Salaam became the first female Muslim to serve as a U.S. judge when she joined the New York State Supreme Court in 1994, according to Zakiyyah Muhammad, the founding director of the Institute of Muslim American Studies, as quoted in The Times.

In 2013, Gov. Mario Cuomo, D-N.Y., appointed her to the state's highest court, known as the Court of Appeals.

In a statement, Cuomo said Judge Abdus-Salaam was a pioneer with an "unshakable moral compass."

Her nomination was part of a push by Cuomo to diversify the court.

When Judge Rowan Wilson joined the court this year, it was the first time the state's highest court had two African-American judges serving on it.

In a statement, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said Abdus-Salaam's "personal warmth, uncompromising sense of fairness and bright legal mind were an inspiration to all of us who had the good fortune to know her."

The Court of Appeals has been on recess since the end of last month. The court is due back in session in less than two weeks.

Abdus-Salaam received her law degree from Columbia Law School, where she attended classes with Eric Holder, the former U.S. attorney general.

Holder was in attendance for her historic swearing-in at the Court of Appeals, as the New York Post reports:



"Holder described how she had 'defined herself by her relentless pursuit of excellence' — while also managing to be a great dancer. " 'Sheila could boogie,' Holder joked at the time. 'She was witty and a great deal of fun to spend time with.' "Abdus-Salaam went on to note how unlikely her and Holder's professional achievements in law would have been four decades ago. " 'Who knew that we would both attain such high positions, and that you would be the first black United States attorney general, and I would be the first black woman on the New York Court of Appeals?' she told him with a big smile."</s>NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A New York State Court of Appeals judge was found dead in the Hudson River offshore from Harlem Wednesday.

Around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, police were called to the Hudson River at 132nd Street and found Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam, 65, unconscious and unresponsive in the water, the NYPD said.

Abdus-Salaam’s body was removed from the water and she was pronounced dead by the FDNY EMS at 125th and Marginal streets, police said.

Police sources said Abdus-Salaam’s husband had reported her missing earlier in the day. There were no signs of trauma reported, and police late Wednesday did not believe her death was criminal, sources said.

New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement calling Abdus-Salaam “a trailblazing jurist whose life in public service was in pursuit of a more fair and more just New York for all.”

“As the first African-American woman to be appointed to the State’s Court of Appeals, she was a pioneer,” Cuomo said in the statement. “Through her writings, her wisdom, and her unshakable moral compass, she was a force for good whose legacy will be felt for years to come.”

Abdus-Salaam was also the first Muslim appointed to the Court of Appeals, Lambda Legal noted. The LGBT civil rights organization noted that just last August, Abdus-Salaam wrote “the ground-breaking decision in Lambda Legal’s case that cleared the way for LGBT parents and other parents with no biological ties to seek parenting rights to their children on equal footing with biological parents.”

“Judge Abdus-Salaam saw clearly how damaging it was to keep LGBT parents from their children,” Lambda Legal director of constitutional litigation Susan Sommer said in a statement. “We owe her a tremendous debt of gratitude. She touched the lives of many New Yorkers; her legacy will live on. ”

Abdus-Salaam, a native of Washington, D.C., graduate from Barnard College in 1974 and received her J.D. from Columbia Law school in 1977, according to her New York court system biography.

She began her career as a staff attorney at East Brooklyn Legal Services, served as an assistant attorney general in the New York State Department of Law, Civil Rights and Real Estate Financing bureaus, and served as general counsel for the New York City Office of Labor Services.

Abdus-Salaam was elected as a New York City civil court judge in 1991, and was elected to Manhattan Supreme Court in 1993. She was appointed as an associate justice of the appellate division by Gov. David Paterson in 2009, and was appointed to the Court of Appeals — the state’s highest court — by Cuomo four years later.</s>A highly respected judge — and the first black woman and the first Muslim to serve on New York State’s highest court — was found dead Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

NYPD Harbor Unit officers pulled the body of Sheila Abdus-Salaam, 65, of West 131st Street in Harlem, out of the Hudson River near 135th street at about 1:45 p.m., New York police said.

An associate justice on the state’s Court of Appeals, Abdus-Salaam was pronounced dead by emergency service personnel after she was found unresponsive and unconscious.

It was unclear Wednesday how she died, and a medical examiner was performing an autopsy to determine the cause of her death. A law enforcement source who didn’t want to be identified said police are initially considering the judge’s death as a possible suicide.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo nominated Abdus-Salaam for a slot on the state Court of Appeals in 2013. In a statement Wednesday, the governor called her “a trailblazing jurist whose life in public service was in pursuit of a more fair and more just New York for all.”

“As the first African-American woman to be appointed to the State’s Court of Appeals, she was a pioneer. Through her writings, her wisdom and her unshakable moral compass, she was a force for good whose legacy will be felt for years to come,” Cuomo said.

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said in a statement said that Abdus-Salaam was “a most beloved colleague,” adding, “Her personal warmth, uncompromising sense of fairness, and bright legal mind were an inspiration to all of us who had the good fortune to know her.

“Sheila’s smile could light up the darkest room,” DiFiore said.

The Amistad Long Island Black Bar Association said Abdus-Salaam “truly embodied the core values of Amistad, seeking truth and justice, and most importantly respect, for all. Her groundbreaking work as an Associate Justice with the Court of Appeals is but a small, albeit significant, aspect of what she achieved in the legal field. Her loss will be truly felt among all jurists.”

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said in a statement he was “shocked and saddened” by news of the judge’s death, adding that Abdus-Salaam was “a dedicated public servant who served New York with honor and distinction as the first African-American woman to sit on the Court of Appeals....Her passing leaves a void that will be difficult to fill.”

Abdus-Salaam, a Washington, D.C., native and 1974 graduate of Barnard College, graduated from Columbia University Law School in 1977 and started a career as a staff attorney at East Brooklyn Legal Services Corp., according to her profile on the state Office of Court Administration’s website.

She had also worked for the New York State Department of Law as an assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights and Real Estate Financing bureaus until 1988, when she became general counsel for the New York City Office of Labor Services, according to the profile. In 1991, she was elected to the New York City Civil Court bench.

She was elected to the state Supreme Court in Manhattan in 1993 and served in various capacities until 2009, when she was appointed to the state Appellate Division by then-Gov. David A. Paterson.

Cuomo tapped her in 2013 after the death in November 2012 of Judge Theodore Jones Jr.

When Abdus-Salaam was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2013, Vincent Bonventre, an Albany Law School professor and longtime court analyst, said: “It’s hard to find anyone who seriously questions the qualifications of Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam to sit on New York’s highest court.”

She said she was humbled by the appointment.

“I am honored to be nominated by Governor Cuomo to serve on the New York State Court of Appeals,” she said in the news release announcing her nomination in April 2013. “This nomination presents me with an opportunity to continue to serve New Yorkers, and advocate for justice and fairness here in New York State.”

News of her death shocked colleagues who recalled a fine jurist. “She was a lovely, genteel lady,” said former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman. “This is a shock, what more is there to say?”

Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said “Sheila Abdus-Salaam was a groundbreaking jurist whose distinguished service on the Court of Appeals, the New York State Supreme Court, as a public defender and public servant made our communities stronger and more just.”</s>NEW YORK (AP) — An appeals court judge who was the first African-American woman appointed to New York’s highest court has been found dead on the shore of the Hudson River off Manhattan.

Police say the body of 65-year-old Sheila Abdus-Salaam was discovered just before 2 p.m. Wednesday along the river’s shore near Harlem, one day after being reported missing.

Police say her body showed no obvious signs of trauma. The medical examiner is to determine the exact cause of death.

Abdus-Salaam was appointed to the state’s Court of Appeals by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2013. She graduated from Barnard College and received her law degree from Columbia School of Law.

Cuomo released a statement calling her a “pioneer” and a “force for good whose legacy will be felt for years to come.”

The New York Court of Appeals released the following statement Wednesday night:

The New York Court of Appeals was saddened to learn today of the passing of Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, a most beloved colleague since she joined the Court in May 2013. Her personal warmth, uncompromising sense of fairness, and bright legal mind were an inspiration to all of us who had the good fortune to know her. Sheila’s smile could light up the darkest room. The people of New York can be grateful for her distinguished public service. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, and we will miss her greatly.

The New York Bar Associated also released a statement:

“We are saddened to learn of the death of Sheila Abdus-Salaam, associate judge of the New York State Court of Appeals,” said New York State Bar Association President Claire P. Gutekunst. “Having grown up poor in a family of seven children in Washington, D.C., she rose to become one of the seven judges in New York’s highest court, where her intellect, judicial temperament and wisdom earned her wide respect. “In 2016, she was recognized with the Stanley H. Fuld Award, one of the Association’s most prestigious awards. It is named for the late chief judge, who served 27 years on the Court of Appeals, six as chief judge. “At the time, Justice Abdus-Salaam said that, as a judge, she listens and wants people to know they are being heard ‘whether I agree with them or not.’ “Listening to the voices seeking justice was a hallmark of her remarkable career as an attorney and as a judge. “On behalf of the New York State Bar Association, I extend our condolences to her husband, family and friends in the legal community.”</s>(CNN) -- Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the first African-American woman appointed to the New York Court of Appeals, was found dead in the Hudson River.

Police responded to a 911 call about a woman in the water of the Hudson around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday. They found an unconscious and unresponsive woman, who was later pronounced dead and identified as Abdus-Salaam.

The medical examiner will determine the cause of death and the incident is under investigation, according to a statement from the New York Police Department.

Abdus-Salaam had been an associate justice on the state's Court of Appeals since her confirmation in 2013.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who appointed her to the state's highest court, hailed her as a "trailblazing jurist whose life in public service was in pursuit of a more fair and more just New York for all."

She had been reported missing by her husband on Tuesday, reported CNN affiliate WCBS in New York.

Abdus-Salaam's death came the same week a prominent Chicago judge was killed outside his home Monday. A suspect in that case has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Judge Raymond Myles.

Tributes for Abdus-Salaam poured in from New York officials.

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted: "She was a humble pioneer. My thoughts are with her family."

Seymour W. James Jr., attorney-in-chief at The Legal Aid Society, said in a statement that her passing had left many heartbroken.

"She leaves a lasting impact on New York -- from her time as a legal services attorney fighting on behalf of low-income families, to her tenure as the first African-American woman to preside on the State's highest court."

Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), tweeted that he was devastated by the news.

Born in Washington to working-class parents, Abdus-Salaam grew up with six siblings and attended the district's public schools.

She became interested in pursuing law after civil rights attorney Frankie Muse Freeman visited her high school.

Abdus-Salaam went to Barnard College for her bachelor's and later received her law degree from Columbia University.

She began her legal career at East Brooklyn Legal Services and later became an assistant attorney general in the New York State Department of Law for its Civil Rights and Real Estate Financing bureaus.

She entered her judicial career in 1991 and was appointed in 2009 by then-Governor David Patterson to the Appellate Division, First Department.

"During her time on the bench, Justice Abdus-Salaam earned the respect of all who appeared before her as a thoughtful, thorough, and fair jurist," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement.</s>Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the first African American woman to serve on New York’s top court and the first female Muslim judge in the United States, was found dead in the Hudson River Wednesday, police said. She was 65. The body of Abdus-Salaam, a native of Washington, D.C., was found fully clothed in the river in Upper Manhattan at 1:45 p.m., a day after her husband had reported her missing, according to the New York Police Department. There were no signs of trauma or injury on the body, and the cause of death is still under investigation. It is not yet known how Abdus-Salaam, who lived in Harlem, ended up in the river, or how long her body had been there. Her death shook the New York legal community, prompting responses from colleagues, judges and state and local political leaders. Abdus-Salaam, an associate judge on the New York Court of Appeals, was described by Mayor Bill de Blasio as “a humble pioneer” and by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo as “a trail-blazing jurist whose life in public service was in pursuit of a more fair and more just New York for all.” “Through her writings, her wisdom, and her unshakable moral compass, she was a force for good whose legacy will be felt for years to come,” Cuomo, who appointed her to the state’s Court of Appeals, said in a statement.

Abdus-Salaam was born in 1952 to a working class family of seven children in the District, where she attended public school. As a teenager, she was inspired to enter the legal profession after an encounter with civil rights attorney Frankie Muse Freeman, according to a 2013 news release from Seymour W. James Jr., attorney-in-charge of criminal practice of the Legal Aid Society in New York City. He commended Gov. Cuomo for nominating Abdus-Salaam to the State Court of Appeals, calling her an “ideal choice” based on her vast experience. “Justice Abdus-Salaam has followed her inspiration by serving the public throughout her distinguished career as an attorney and jurist,” James, then president of the New York State Bar Association, wrote. Before her nomination to the State Court of Appeals, Abdus-Salaam, she served as a justice in the First Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court, and for 15 years as a State Supreme Court justice in Manhattan. She graduated from Barnard College in 1974 and from Columbia Law School in 1977, and spent time working with indigent clients as a staff attorney at Brooklyn Legal Services. She also served as an assistant state attorney general.

Throughout her career, Abdus-Salaam’s colleagues have hailed the judge for her clarity as a writer and fairness as a decision-maker. Janet DiFiore, chief judge of the state Court of Appeals, said in a statement Wednesday “her personal warmth, uncompromising sense of fairness, and bright legal mind were an inspiration to all of us who had the good fortune to know her.” “Sheila’s smile could light up the darkest room,” DiFiore added. In one of Abdus-Salaam’s most significant recent decisions, this summer she wrote the ruling on Brooke S.B. and Elizabeth A. C.C., expanding the definition of what it means to be a parent, particularly for same-sex couples. The existing definition, she wrote, had become “unworkable when applied to increasingly varied familial relationships.” She ruled that “where a partner shows by clear and convincing evidence that the parties agreed to conceive a child and to raise the child together, the non-biological, non-adoptive partner has standing to seek visitation and custody.” When Abdus-Salaam was formally sworn in as the seventh member of New York’s top court, then-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder travelled to Albany to honour her, his former classmate at Columbia Law School four decades earlier. “Sheila could boogie,” he said before a courtroom packed with Abdus-Salaam’s legal colleagues, family and friends. “I read that during her confirmation process, Judge Abdus-Salaam received a standing ovation every time she appeared in public before members of the Legislature. Now, as someone who has appeared a number of times before Congress, I can tell you just how extraordinary that is.” In announcing his nomination of Abdus-Salaam for Court of Appeals, Cuomo called the judge one of the state’s “most respected and experienced jurists” and praised her for having risen from “working class roots.” At a 2015 event in Brooklyn celebrating Black History Month, Abdus Salaam credited her mother’s efforts raising her and her siblings in Washington. “If my mother wasn’t such a smart and resourceful woman, I might have ended up in foster care or worse,” Abdus-Salaam said. “Although she dropped out of school, my mother realized that a good education would help us escape the poverty that we were trapped in.” In the wake of the news of her death Wednesday, Judge Jonathan Lippman, former chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, said the court “has suffered a terrible blow.” “It’s just so shocking,” Lippman said. “She was a very gentile, lovely lady and judge. That’s why is makes it even more difficult to understand.”
Sheila Abdus-Salaam, an incumbent associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals and the first African-American woman to serve on the Court of Appeals is found dead in the Hudson River.