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Deborah A. Batts

Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York · 1994

Deborah A. Batts , Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Deborah Anne Batts (April 13, 1947 – February 3, 2020) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. During Gay Pride Week in June 1994, Batts was sworn in as a United States district judge for Manhattan, becoming the nation's first openly LGBT federal judge. She took senior status on her 65th birthday, April 13, 2012.

Education

  • Radcliffe CollegeA.B., 1969
  • Harvard Law SchoolJ.D., 1972

Career

Law clerk, Hon. Lawrence Pierce, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1972-1973; Private practice, New York City, 1973-1979; Assistant U.S. attorney, Criminal Division, Southern District of New York, 1979-1984; Associate professor of law, Fordham University School of Law, 1984-1994; Faculty, Corporation Counsel Trial Advocacy Program for the City of New York, 1988-1993 (intermittent); Special associate counsel, Department of Investigation, New York City, 1990-1991

Biography

Deborah Anne Batts (April 13, 1947 – February 3, 2020) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. During Gay Pride Week in June 1994, Batts was sworn in as a United States district judge for Manhattan, becoming the nation's first openly LGBT federal judge. She took senior status on her 65th birthday, April 13, 2012.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

More

From Senate roll call votes, Wikidata, Wikipedia and Office of Government Ethics records.

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Capitol Receipts, “Deborah A. Batts : Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern…,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/appointee/j120/deborah-a-batts (accessed 2026-10-13).