Salas eventually prevented the prosecution from seeking the death penalty for the gangster. By viewing our video content, you are accepting the terms of our. She has dealt with important cases before this one also. Instead, he meted out revenge on her family. By Akshay Saraswat Updated July 20, 2020 18:27 +08 “But it’s also important to forgive yourself. A man walks past the home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas on July 20, 2020, in North Brunswick, N.J., after a man shot and killed Salas' son, Daniel Anderl, and … Their son was barely out of her teens, 20-year old to be exact, but has unfortunately succumbed to injuries. The alleged suspect in the attack on the Salas family, Roy Den Hollander, apparently also had a photo of another female judge, New York State Chief Judge Janet Difiore, in his car. For U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow, the brutal attack on fellow federal Judge Esther Salas’ family, which left her husband Mark Anderl grievously injured and their son, Daniel, dead, had a terrible familiarity. “And it was so loud. Deadly attacks against judges remain relatively uncommon in the United States. Lately, it has been the Epstein case that she has been looking at. Salas's highest-profile case cam in 2014, when she sentenced Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Guidice to prison for fraud. Federal judges are entitled to a home and court security systems and protection by the U.S. While sentencing Giudice and her husband, she divided their punishments in a way that would allow one of them to be available to take care of their young children. Despite the intense grief, Judge Salas and her husband have forgiven their son’s killer. “When my husband and my mother was killed, there was a lot of vitriol directed at judges,” she said, citing right-wing news that stoked sentiments against people in her profession, and a fringe online “jail for judges” campaign. “I think that crosses a line from legitimate criticism of a ruling and goes into a whole different area.”. Police identified 72-year-old Roy Den Hollander as the shooter. Their 20-year-old son Daniel was killed. Barack Obama appointed her a district federal judge in 2010, Barack Obama Presidential Library/obamalibrary.gov, International Business Times, Singapore Edition, America Celebrates Victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, She's Done It! “The horror of it is unbearable,” she said of the attack on Salas’ family. President Barack Obama approved her nomination and appointed her as such in 2010. Dutch Teacher Goes Into Hiding After Prophet Muhammad Cartoon Prompts Online Threats, Chinese Internet Users Coin New, Unique Names to Describe Donald Trump. The self-described anti-feminist lawyer was later found dead of suicide. On top of that, she is also notable as the first Hispanic woman to be appointed as District Judge and Magistrate Judge in New Jersey. She was also known for using innovative means to provide justice. You can get the latest news, sports and weather on our brand new CBS New York app. “There are no words that will allay the grief that Judge Salas and her husband must bear after losing their son to gun violence,” Lefkow said. “Forgiveness is a wonderful way for people to deal with such a terrible, tragic loss, like the murder of a child. Since 1979, four federal judges have been assassinated. Fifteen years ago, Lefkow’s husband and mother were shot and killed by an aggrieved former plaintiff who had appeared in her court and then, angered by her courtroom decisions, hid in her basement apparently with the intent to kill her. As Joe Biden Wins US Presidential Election 2020, What Would It Mean for China and Asia? The killing of Salas’ son and the shooting of her husband allegedly by an anti-feminist lawyer highlights the problem on which Lefkow and the Federal Judges Association have spent over a decade sounding the alarm: judges are being threatened and attacked, often by those angered by decisions made from the bench. Her husband, Mark Anderl, was shot three times and survived. “It can seem to be spurred by an order someone misperceives or a ruling they think is an attack, as opposed to just understanding the justice system,” she said. Kocurek survived the assassination attempt, but underwent dozens of surgeries to recover from her injuries. I can’t let him take anything else. In 2017, she was faced with a very complicated case of a man who was considered the leader of a murderous gang. In 2015, a Houston man shot U.S. District Judge Julie Kocurek in front of her family. Luckily for her, she was in the basement of the house and therefore didn't come face to face with the killer. She started her career as a law clerk in the office of Eugene Codey Jr, who was in the Superior Court of New Jersey. Esther Salas Age. Prior to that, in 2014, she was presiding over the case of fraud against Teresa Giudice, leading member of the cast on Real Housewives of New Jersey, and her husband. Esther Salas is the first Hispanic woman to be appointed as District Judge and Magistrate Judge in New Jersey. She was the first Latino federal magistrate judge in New Jersey and also the state’s first Latina U.S. District Court judge. Lefkow, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, described the tragedy that befell her own family as “grueling” in an interview with NBC News on Monday. But clinical psychologist Dr. Judy Kuriansky says it can help the victims of tragedy to find closure. “And from the moment I did that, I felt lighter. “I lifted his shirt. And that was his source of hate,” she said. “I know that he hated me because I was a woman. As for Judge Salas, she says she plans to return to the bench, and hopes to become a better person to honor her son. Download here. He left behind a note detailing his plans to shoot Lefkow, and a list of 26 others - including judges, lawyers and doctors. Shortly after, the threats against Robart began, according to the American Bar Association, and he received more than 42,000 letters, emails and calls, including more than 100 death threats. The deadly attack happened at the judge’s home in New Jersey. “I know that he hated me because I was a woman. Love is light,” she said. According to data compiled by the Marshals Service, some 4,449 documented threats and “inappropriate communication” were recorded against protected federal judges, jurors and other members of the federal judiciary in 2019. Kamala Harris is America's Vice President-Elect, Idaho Man Lands In Soup After Cooking Chicken At Hot Spring in Yellowstone National Park, Joe Biden Defeats Donald Trump to Become the 46th US President, Coronavirus Infested White House Needs to be Cleaned and Sanitized Before Biden Moves In, Dairy Worker Gets Arrested After Bathing in 'Milk' at Factory in Viral TikTok Clip [VIDEO]. It was in 2006 that she occupied the position of a judge by being appointed Magistrate Judge. It was federal judges, jurors and other members of the federal judiciary, not just judges. That number is unusually high: On average, the service has seen 1,350 threats and inappropriate communications against such individuals annually since 2015. He hated me because I was Latina. “This man took the most important thing in my life. But her importance is not just restricted to the Epstein case. The home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in North Brunswick, N.J., on Monday. In her grief, she lobbied Congress to do more to protect judges like herself. U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow holds her hand over her heart as she watches pallbearers carry her husbands casket into St. Luke's Episcopal Church on March 5, 2005, in Evanston, Ill. Lefkow found her husband Michael Lefkow and her mother Donna Humphrey murdered when she came home from work on Feb. 28. This incident has left the entire country stunned as Salas was presiding over some very important cases that had gained the attention of the national media. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered state police to guard the judge as a precaution. And we were both just watching him fade away,” she said. But as their role becomes increasingly politicized, judges are receiving record numbers of threats. Judge Esther Salas and her husband, Mark Anderl. Her husband, who was also shot in the attack late Sunday night, is himself a lawyer. Esther Salas is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Since assuming this office, Justice Salas has had some interesting and highly-publicized cases come under her jurisdiction. Judge Salas was the intended target of the attack at her home. He hated me because I was Latina. I saw the bullet hole. Lefkow emphasized that this problem isn’t new. President Donald Trump’s travel ban that barred people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, at a panel in 2019 hosted by the Bar Association. I almost thought it was mini bombs or something,” said U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas in an emotional interview on Good Morning America. ET): A previous version of this article misstated who received documented threats and inappropriate communications as tracked by the Marshals Service. Judge Esther Salas Rutgers University. The man who killed Lefkow’s family, Bart A. Ross, committed suicide. Three months later, she says she’s forgiven the killer. Hate is heavy. New Jersey’s assembly passed a bill named after Daniel that would prohibit posting the addresses of judges and prosecutors. 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Marshals Service, which has provided security for federal judges and courtrooms across the country since 1789. Of late, she had been in focus as the judge in Jeffery Epstein's case pertaining to the irregularities in Deutsche Bank.