TOP NEW YORK JUDGE SHEILA ABDUS-SALAAM FOUND DEAD BY HUDSON RIVER

Sheila Abdus-Salaam, was found dead in the Hudson River, just a mile from her central Harlem home. Police responded to a 911 call about a woman in the water of the Hudson around 1:45 p.m Wednesday.

They found an unconscious and unresponsive woman,one day after she was reported missing and was later pronounced dead and identified as Abdus-Salaam. The medical examiner will determine the cause of death and the incident is under investigation. 

Police sources said there were no signs of obvious trauma or injuries indicating foul play. 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. 

Her death came the same week a prominent Chicago judge was killed outside his home. A suspect in that case has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Judge Raymond Myles.

Abdus-Salaam, who was 65 years old, graduated from Barnard College and received her law degree from Columbia Law School. She started her career as a staff attorney for East Brooklyn Legal Services and served as a judge in Manhattan state Supreme Court for 14 years, according to the state Office of Court Administration's website.

The president of the New York State Bar Association, Claire P. Gutekunst, said Abdus-Salaam grew up poor in a family of seven children in Washington, D.C., and "rose to become one of the seven judges in New York's highest court, where her intellect, judicial temperament and wisdom earned her wide respect."