The First Black and First Muslim Woman to Serve on New York’s Court of Appeals Has Been Found Dead

Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the first black woman to serve in New York's highest court was found dead in the Hudson River on Wednesday afternoon, after being reported missing by her husband the day before.

Abdus-Salaam was 65 years old, the medical examiner is yet to determine the cause of her death, which is still under investigation, according to the New York Police Department.

Abdus became an associate justice for the New York Court of Appeals in 2013. She served as a State Supreme Court justice in Manhattan for 15 years starting in 1994, making her the first African American woman and the first Muslim woman to serve on the bench, according Zakiyyah Muhammad, director of the Institute of Muslim American Studies.

She began her career in the legal field at East Brooklyn Legal Services before being appointed Assistant Attorney General in the New York State Department of Law's Civil Rights and Real Estate Financing bureaus, reports CNN.

Several officials have expressed their condolences, and many have highlighted the judge's illustrious career. "She was a trailblazing jurist whose life in public service was in pursuit of a more fair and more just New York for all," said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who appointed her in 2013.

"She was a humble pioneer," said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Her groundbreaking career and staunch dedication to promoting a fair judicial system, have left a lasting impact on her community.

Devestated by the news that judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam was found dead in NY.

RIP. May Allah bless your soul our Sister. #RIPJudgeAbdusSalaam

— Nihad Awad نهاد عوض (@NihadAwad) April 13, 2017