Palm Beach Circuit Judge Meenu Sasser, the county's first Asian-American judge, died at 48 on Saturday morning.

Sasser was undergoing treatment for esophageal cancer, but her death was unexpected, according to her husband, distinguished divorce attorney Thomas J. Sasser. He said Sasser was admitted to hospital on Wednesday with low blood pressure, appeared “vibrant” and “feisty” until she suffered respiratory distress on Friday.

When Sasser was in first grade, her family swapped India for Washington, D.C., before she knew a word of English.

“She and her family, in the most classic of American stories, pulled themselves up from their bootstraps,” Thomas Sasser said.

By 1995, Sasser began her career with a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, an Ivy League college. She joined West Palm Beach firm Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart as an associate and became a shareholder in 2002.

Sasser “could have chosen to make lots of money,” the way her husband sees it, but instead she dedicated her life to public service.

“[Sasser] and her parents believed in the same American Dream, the American legal system and the freedoms that our country gave, and she felt an unending desire to give back for all that our country had given to her and the opportunities that she had,” Thomas Sasser said.

In 2009, then-Florida Gov. Charlie Crist appointed Sasser to the circuit bench, and there, Sasser made a national mark. In 2018, New York University Law School recognized Sasser as the “most innovative jurist” in the country.

Sasser would read until the wee hours of the morning, according to her husband, becoming Florida's first full-time foreclosure judge and even acquiring a nickname, “The Rocket,” for her speed in tackling cases during the housing crisis.

Thomas Sasser said he saw firsthand that jurors were particularly important to his wife, whose mission was to give the public a good reason to trust the legal system.

“Out of our own pocket, quite candidly, we took regular runs to Costco and other places so she could stock her courtroom with food and snacks and coffee and multiple Keurig machines,” Thomas Sasser said. “Because what she wanted the people who are interacting with and touching the judicial system to know was how important their job was and how they were valued in it.”

Though Sasser's initial chemotherapy treatment for Stage 4 cancer was successful, the disease returned in March and she began a clinical trial for a new immunotherapy drug. She had planned to start chemotherapy this week, her husband said.

Palm Beach Circuit Court announced the news via Twitter on Sunday, prompting an outpouring of messages from friends and colleagues.

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It was no surprise to anyone when Sasser was elevated to the bench, according to Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, who knew her as a prominent young attorney when she was seemingly “involved with everything,” from bar associations to civic and charitable activities.

“What was really telling about her character was she never changed who she was after she donned the black robes,” Aronberg said. “She was always the same kindhearted person she had always been.”

Sasser also became Aronberg's partner in CrossFit, a notoriously tough fitness regime.

“If there was ever a time to show your competitiveness and to lose your smile, it's CrossFit, and yet she never did,” Aronberg said.

Miami lawyer Matthew Sarelson of Kaplan Young & Moll Parron has appeared before Sasser numerous times and met her at various bar functions. He said the judge's death is a huge loss for the Palm Beach legal community, where she valued mentorship and diversity.

“Judge Sasser was widely regarded as the best judge in Palm Beach,” Sarelson said. “She was smart, well-prepared and treated lawyers with respect. She would have made a great appellate or federal judge.”

Palm Beach County Bar Association President Jessica Callow said Sasser encouraged countless female and minority attorneys to take on leadership roles, creating and championing valuable programs as a board member and past president.

“Judge Sasser was a skilled and always prepared jurist with an outstanding judicial demeanor and impressive knowledge of the law,” Callow said. “She will be deeply missed by her Palm Beach County Bar Association family.”

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'Fierce'

Sasser regularly ranked on top among South Florida jurists in surveys by lawyers, assessing skills like impartiality, diligence, timeliness and knowledge and application of the law.

In response to a high rating in 2017, Sasser said, “This just makes me want to work even harder tomorrow. It invigorates me to try to do a better job every single day in the courtroom. Serving as a judge in Palm Beach County for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit is the honor of my career. I always try to treat every single lawyer and every single litigant who comes into the courtroom as I would a client who came before me when I was a lawyer in private practice.”

In her husband's eyes, Sasser was like a star athlete, whose ideas, work ethic, skills and high standards could turn a good team into a great one.

“She didn't want anything less than the best for the public,” Thomas Sasser said. “Every day of my life I knew I lived with someone who is better and smarter than me. She pushed me, she pushed everyone around her.”

The couple have three teenage children.

“She was a fierce, fierce mother,” Thomas Sasser said. “Protective in ways that you could only hope that a mother could be.”

A visitation will be held Thursday between 6 and 9 p.m. at the Quattlebaum Funeral Home on Okeechobee Boulevard. On Friday, there will be a Catholic Mass at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Lake Worth at 2 p.m. It will feature a judicial processional with attendees coming from across the country, and will be followed by an interment at Catholic cemetery Our Lady Queen of Peace on Southern Boulevard.

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