Deborah Batts

Deborah A. Batts
Deborah A. Batts
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
	In office; April 13, 2012 – February 3, 2020
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
	In office; May 9, 1994 – April 13, 2012
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Richard Owen
Succeeded by	Vernon S. Broderick
Personal details
Born	April 13, 1947; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	February 3, 2020 (aged 72); Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Gwen Zornberg (m. 2011)[1]
Children	two
Education	Radcliffe College (AB); Harvard Law School (JD)

Deborah Anne Batts (April 13, 1947 – February 3, 2020)[1] was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. In June 1994, Deborah Batts was sworn in as a United States District Judge for Manhattan, becoming the nation's first openly LGBT, African-American federal judge.[2] She took senior status on her 65th birthday, April 13, 2012.[3]

Education and career

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Batts received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Radcliffe College in 1969, and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1972. She subsequently clerked for Judge Lawrence Pierce on the Federal Court on which she served as a Judge until her death. She was an Assistant United States Attorney from 1979 to 1984. In 1984, she became an Associate Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law. She was a special associate counsel to the Department of Investigation for New York City from 1990 to 1991.

Federal judicial service

On January 27, 1994, following the recommendation of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, President Bill Clinton nominated Batts to a seat on the Southern District left open in 1989 when Judge Richard Owen took senior status. Batts was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 6, 1994, and received her commission on May 9, 1994. She took senior status on April 13, 2012. She continued to serve concurrently as an adjunct professor at Fordham University. Her service terminated on February 3, 2020, due to her death from complications from knee surgery at a rehabilitation center in Manhattan.[1][4]

References

Seelye, Katharine Q.; Weiser, Benjamin (February 5, 2020). "Deborah A. Batts, First Openly Gay Federal Judge, Dies at 72". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
National Black Justice Coalition (February 20, 2009), The Honorable Deborah A. Batts: Profile in Courage, http://www.nbjcoalition.org. Retrieved on March 5, 2009.
"Batts, Deborah A. - Federal Judicial Center".
Saul, Emily (February 3, 2020). "Deborah Batts, federal judge set to oversee Avenatti's Stormy Daniels trial, dead at 72".

Sources

Deborah A. Batts at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Legal offices
Preceded by Richard Owen	Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York 1994–2012	Succeeded by Vernon S. Broderick

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[nytobit-1] Seelye, Katharine Q.; Weiser, Benjamin (February 5, 2020). "Deborah A. Batts, First Openly Gay Federal Judge, Dies at 72". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2020.

[2] National Black Justice Coalition (February 20, 2009), The Honorable Deborah A. Batts: Profile in Courage, http://www.nbjcoalition.org. Retrieved on March 5, 2009.

[3] "Batts, Deborah A. - Federal Judicial Center".

[4] Saul, Emily (February 3, 2020). "Deborah Batts, federal judge set to oversee Avenatti's Stormy Daniels trial, dead at 72".