Richelle Cruz

September 15th- October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month! In honor of this time this article will be highlighting Judge Esther Salas, United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey Court. Salas was born December 29, 1968 in Los Angeles, CA to a Cuban mother and Mexican father. At the age of five, Salas, her mother, and her siblings moved to Union City, New Jersey where she then raised. She attended local public schools until high school where she was enrolled in Emerson High School. Throughout her adolescence, Salas presented an indigent nature, defensive of those she cared about such as her mother, who she often aided in translating when doing business at welfare offices which led her to an interest in a career in public service. After high school, Salas went on to attend  Rutgers University–New Brunswick, graduating in 1991 and in 1994 from Rutgers University School of Law in Newark. 

After graduation, Salas would work for eleven years under law firms from law clerk to working on municipal and criminal matters in court. During these years she also took her time to dedicate herself to associations such as the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey (where she served as president for a year), 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. Esther Salas accomplished becoming the first Latina Magistrate Judge (appointed out of 99 applicants) in 2006 and the first Latina District Judge in 2011 thus making her the first Latina to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. In 2010, Robert Mendez and Frank Lautenberg (NJ Senators) recommended her to former President Barack Obama who nominated her as a federal judge. The following year she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Salas worked in many major cases and whether you were concerned about organized crime or the fate of your favorite New Jersey housewife, she judged or worked over them. 

Down the line, Salas and her family would be targeted in an attack within her own home, fatally wounding her husband and killing her twenty year old son, Daniel Anderl. She has continued her line of work since the tragic incident and advocates for security and privacy, pushing for laws that would prevent disasters like this from ever striking again. Her advocacy was notably for laws and legislation such as Daniel’s Law and Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act.
From humble beginnings in Hudson County to being the first Latina to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Judge Esther Salas has overcome adversity, change, and paved a path for herself through hard work and dedication to public service and thus presents the spirit of Hispanic Heritage Month. Through her achievements she has worked to break down barriers, advocate for judicial safety, and continues to mark her place in the judicial system to this day.