Deborah Batts (1947-2020) was the first openly gay Black judge to serve in the federal judiciary. She presided over prominent cases on everything from political corruption to terrorism to the civil litigation that followed the infamous Central Park Five case.
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Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
Today’s queer icon was the first openly gay Black judge to serve in the federal judiciary. She presided over prominent cases on everything from political corruption to terrorism to the civil litigation that followed the infamous Central Park Five case. Let’s talk about the Honorable Deborah Batts.
Deborah Anne Batts was born on April 13, 1947 in Philadelphia alongside her twin sister Diane. Their father, Dr. James Batts Jr was a decorated combat surgeon in World War II. He later became the director of maternal and infant care for the city of Philadelphia. Deborah’s mother, Ruth, was a nurse turned homemaker.
Deborah grew up in an education-centered home. In 1965, Deborah and her twin sister graduated at the top of their class at the Philadelphia High School for Girls. The following fall, Deborah began her college education at Radcliffe College, where she majored in government.
The year of Deborah’s graduation, 1969, was a tumultuous time in the United States. Amid the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Vietnam War, Deborah was inspired to pursue social justice and law. She enrolled at Harvard Law School where she served on the editorial board of the Harvard Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law Review.
In 1972, Deborah graduated from law school and clerked for longtime federal New York Judge Lawrence W. Pierce. After a year, Deborah joined the litigation department of the prestigious New York law firm, Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
Deborah worked fiercely as a litigator for six years before becoming a federal prosecutor.
During this time, Deborah married fellow lawyer Ira McCown Jr. Together, the two had two children before the marriage dissolved.
In 1984, Deborah joined the faculty at Fordham University. She was the first Black person at the University to receive tenure. It was around that same time that New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan recommended Deborah apply to be a federal judge. From the 1980s to the early 1990s, Deborah’s application wasn’t given any consideration. The George H.W. Bush administration said Deborah was “very nice” but thought she wasn’t fit to be a federal judge.
Then in 1994, President Bill Clinton nominated Deborah. At the time of her appointment, Deborah’s sexuality as a queer woman was known to the public. It didn’t inhibit her nomination. The American Bar Association immediately rated her “unanimously qualified.”
On June 23, 1994, Deborah Batts was sworn in as a federal judge during Pride Week. It would take 17 more years for another queer judge to be sworn into the federal judiciary.
In 2011, Deborah married Dr. Gwen Zornberg, a psychiatrist.
Not only did Deborah break barriers for Black and queer women, she also used her prominent role as a federal judge to model compassion. Following a surgery, a fellow judge found her writing character testimonies on behalf of recently incarcerated people from her hospital bed. Deborah also worked closely with RISE, a program with the Southern District of New York that aims to reduce the rate of recidivism.
On February 3, 2020, Deborah unexpectedly died from complications with a knee surgery. She passed away in her Manhattan home at the age of 72.
Long time friend of Deborah’s, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in a statement to the New York Times that Deborah, “lived her life openly and earnestly with fortitude and conviction.”
Judge Deborah Batts is hailed as a superb professor, trial advocate, and role model. In her three decades as a professor, she mentored hundreds of law students while also balancing her career as a federal judge. She is known by many of her colleagues as a “trailblazer” for her work in elevating Black and Queer rights and representation.
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