A pioneering judge, who became the first Muslim woman in US history to serve on the bench, was found dead Wednesday — washed up on the Manhattan side of the Hudson River, sources said.
Sheila Abdus-Salaam, 65, was discovered floating in the water near 132nd Street and Hudson Parkway at around 1:45 p.m., according to police sources.
Police had initially responded to a 911 call about a woman in the water of the Hudson around. They found an unconscious and unresponsive woman, who was later pronounced dead and identified as Abdus-Salaam.
Sources told The Post that Abdus-Salaam, who is an associate judge of the Court of Appeals, had been reported missing from her home in Harlem earlier in the day.
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 was a pioneer,” he said. “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. I was proud to appoint her to the state’s highest court and am deeply saddened by her passing.”
In addition to being the country’s first Muslim female judge, Abdus-Salaam was the first ever African-American woman to be appointed to the state’s Court of Appeals.
After receiving her degree from Columbia Law School, she began her legal career working as a staff attorney at East Brooklyn Legal Services. Abdus-Salaam rose through the state ranks before eventually being elected to the Supreme Court in 1993.
She was then appointed to the Court of Appeals by Cuomo in 2013. Former US Attorney General Eric Holder, who went to Columbia with Abdus-Salaam, was in attendance for her historic swearing-in ceremony and described how she had “defined herself by her relentless pursuit of excellence” — while also managing to be a great dancer.
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.
