Judge Esther Salas Biography
Esther Salas is an America District Judge for the District of New Jersey, based in Newark, New Jersey. From 2006 until her confirmation as a district judge in 2011, she was a United States Magistrate Judge for the same court. Salas is the first Hispanic woman to hold the positions of US Magistrate Judge and US District Judge in the District of New Jersey.
How old is Judge Esther Salas? – Age
Salas is 52 years old as of December 29, 2020. She was born in 1968 in Monterey Park, California, United States.
Judge Esther Salas Family
Her mother is from Cuba, and her father is from Mexico. Her father is a devout Jew, and her mother is a devout Catholic. She, her mother, Aurelia Salas, and her siblings moved to Union City, New Jersey when she was five years old. Though she lost contact with her father when she moved from the West Coast, she would later reconnect with him during the background check she had to go through when she was appointed a federal judge. Salas remembers having to translate for her mother at the welfare office when she was a child, and later helping friends with various problems in their lives, which led to her pursuing a career in human services.
Judge Esther Salas Education
Salas went to Union City’s Emerson High School, where she participated in cheerleading as an extracurricular activity. She attended Rutgers University after graduating from high school in 1987, where she lived on campus and participated in clubs and activities. Salas earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers in 1991 and a law degree from Rutgers University School of Law in Newark in 1994. Her success as a student and later in her career can be attributed to the Minority Student Program.
Judge Esther Salas Net Worth
She has an estimated net worth of $5 million.
Judge Esther Salas Husband
Salas is the mother of Daniel, a son from her marriage to attorney Mark A. Anderl. Anderl is a former Essex County special prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney.
Judge Esther Salas Son’s Death
Daniel Anderl, her son, was fatally shot by a gunman at the front door of the family’s New Jersey home in July 2020. Daniel was shot in the chest while attempting to defend his parents. The murderer had fled by the time Judge Salas arrived at the door. Mark, her husband, was hurt.
Judge Esther Salas Career
Salas worked as a law clerk for Eugene J. Codey Jr. of the Superior Court of New Jersey after graduating from law school. Salas worked for Garces & Grabler, P.C. from 1995 to 1997, where she handled criminal cases in both superior and municipal courts. She worked as an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of New Jersey from 1997 to 2006, representing indigent defendants in federal cases. Salas served as president of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey and the Hispanic Bar Foundation of New Jersey from 2001 to 2002. She has also served on the Governor’s Hispanic Advisory Committee for Policy Development, the Supreme Court Committee on Minorities, and the Governor’s Hispanic Advisory Committee for Policy Development.
Salas served as president of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey and the Hispanic Bar Foundation of New Jersey from 2001 to 2002. She’s also worked on the Governor’s Hispanic Advisory Committee on Policy Growth, as well as the Supreme Court Committee on Minority Issues and the Supreme Court Committee on Women in the Courts. Salas was appointed as the United States Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey in 2006, after being chosen from a pool of 99 applicants. She was the first Latina to hold the position, which she held for five years. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez confirmed on August 31, 2010, that Salas would be nominated as a federal district judge on the same court by President Barack Obama. On December 1, 2010, Obama nominated her to fill the seat vacated by Katharine Sweeney Hayden, who was promoted to senior status on May 30, 2010.
Salas was overwhelmingly ranked “highly suited” for the judgeship by the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which rates the credentials of federal judicial candidates. The nomination lapsed at the end of the 111th Congress due to a lack of Senate intervention. Salas was renominated by Obama on January 5, 2011, at the start of the 112th Congress, and the Senate approved her by voice vote on June 14, 2011, making her the first Latina to serve on the District Court of New Jersey.