Esther Salas

Esther Salas (born December 29, 1968) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey sitting in Newark, New Jersey. She previously served as a United States magistrate judge of the same court from 2006 until her confirmation as a district judge in 2011. Salas is the first Hispanic woman to serve as a United States magistrate judge and as a United States District Judge in the District of New Jersey.

Early life

Salas is from Monterey Park, California, and is the daughter of a Cuban mother and a Mexican father. Her father is Jewish and her mother is Catholic. At the age of five, she, her mother, Aurelia Salas, along with her siblings, moved to Union City, New Jersey. Though she lost contact with her father when she moved from the West Coast, she would later reconnect with him during the course of the background check she underwent upon being appointed a federal judge. Growing up indigent, Salas recalls having to translate for her mother at the welfare office, and later helping friends with various problems facing their lives, an activity that led to her pursuit of a career focusing on human services.

Salas attended Emerson High School in Union City, where her extracurricular activities included cheerleading. After graduating from high school in 1987, she attended Rutgers University–New Brunswick, where she lived on campus and was active in clubs and activities. Salas graduated from Rutgers in 1991 and in 1994 from Rutgers University School of Law in Newark with a Juris Doctor. She credits her success during her education and during her later professional life to the Minority Student Program.