The New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (“NJWLA”) condemns the acts of violence committed against Judge Esther Salas and her family on July 19, 2020. The reality that one of our own, a woman in the legal profession in New Jersey, was so senselessly and viciously targeted, is abhorrent to NJWLA’s mission and to society in general. The fact that the perpetrator of these crimes murdered Judge Salas’s beloved son, Daniel, and attempted to murder her beloved husband, Mark Anderl, has rocked NJWLA to its core.

Judge Salas is the consummate public servant. She has devoted her time, energy, and infinite passion to the law unwaveringly throughout her career. Judge Salas is also a longtime friend of the NJWLA, a 2015 Women’s Initiative and Leaders in the Law Gala Honoree, and a speaker at NJWLA’s Judicial Panel in 2014 and 2019. NJWLA continues to express its deepest condolences to Judge Salas and her husband during these darkest of times. But condolences alone are not enough.

While the alleged murderer took his own life, and thus will never be prosecuted for his crimes against Judge Salas’s family, reporting regarding the perpetrator identified by law enforcement indicates that he was motivated by deeply rooted sexist and racist views. The opinions espoused on the alleged murderer’s own website leave no doubt that his work as an attorney was guided by an irrational hatred for “feminists,” and that he sought to use our legal system as a tool “to help battle the infringement of Men’s Rights by the Feminists and their fellow sisters the PCers.”

A bias incident or hate crime is defined in the New Jersey Attorney General’s Bias Crime Guidelines as “any suspected or confirmed offense or unlawful act which occurs against a person…on the basis of New Jersey’s nine protected classes: race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and national origin.” An attack on a sitting judge based on her race and gender is a hate crime.

NJWLA will zealously continue its efforts to fight against the disparate treatment of women in the legal profession, as well as condemn and fight against acts of racism. NJWLA calls on its members to take active steps to identify and fight against sexism and racism within the legal profession. We must be vigilant, and work hard to root out the kind of hate that led to the violent acts committed against Judge Salas and her family.

Finally, we join with Judge Salas in advocating for legislation to protect our judges’ personal information from access by the public. These protections should apply to our federal, state and local judiciary. The safety of legal professionals in public service should be, and must be, of the utmost importance to us all in our collective pursuit of justice.