Deborah Batts, the nation's first openly gay member of the federal judiciary, has died. She was 72.
Batts died in her sleep on Sunday, according to a news release from Fordham University, which described her as the school's first African-American faculty member. The cause of death was unclear.Batts was sworn in as a judge on the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1994, after President Bill Clinton nominated her to the bench.
She worked in private practice from 1973 until 1979, when she became an Assistant US Attorney in the Southern District of New York in the Criminal Division. In 1984, she joined Fordham University as a law professor."Judge Batts was a beloved member of our community and will be greatly missed. We are grateful to her for her brilliance, passion and friendship.
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