Body of Sheila Abdus-Salaam, First U.S. Female Muslim Judge Found in Hudson River

Abdus-Salaam was not only the first female Muslim judge in the county; she was also the first black woman to be appointed to the Court of Appeals. She graduated from Columbia Law School and started her career as a staff attorney at East Brooklyn Legal Services and was elected to the Supreme Court in 1993. In 2013, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed her to the Court of Appeals in 2013.

Jonathan Lippman, chief judge of the state Court of Appeals from 2009-2015 during part of Abdus-Salaam’s tenure, told the Post how “deeply saddened” he was at the news of her death, saying that she was a “superb jurist and an even more superb human being.”

“It’s just so shocking,” he told the Post. “She was a very genteel, lovely lady and judge If you ask anyone about her, people would say only the most wonderful things. That’s why it makes it even more difficult to understand.”