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Deborah Batts
Deborah A. Batts was a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Batts was the first openly gay person appointed to a federal court.[1] She was appointed by President Clinton in 1994. Batts elected to take senior status beginning in 2012. Her service ended on February 2, 2020, when she passed away.[2]
Early life and education
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Batts graduated from Radcliffe College with her bachelor's degree in 1969 and from Harvard Law School with her J.D. in 1972.[3]
Professional career
- 2012-2020: Senior judge
- 1994-2012: Judge
- 1990-1991: Special associate counsel, Department of Investigation, New York City
- 1988-1993: Faculty, Corporation Counsel Trial Advocacy Program for the City of New York
- 1984-1994: Associate professor of law, Fordham University School of Law
- 1979-1984: Assistant U.S. attorney, criminal division, Southern District of New York
- 1973-1979: Private practice, New York, N.Y.
- 1972-1973: Law clerk, Honorable Lawrence Pierce, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York[3]
Judicial nominations and appointments
Southern District of New York
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Deborah A. Batts |
| Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 99 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: January 27, 1994
|
| ABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: April 29, 1994
|
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: May 5, 1994
|
| Confirmed: May 6, 1994
|
| Vote: Voice vote
|
Batts was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Bill Clinton on January 27, 1994, to a seat vacated by Richard Owen. The American Bar Association rated Batts Unanimously Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Batts' nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 29, 1994, and her nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on May 5, 1994. Batts was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on May 6, 1994, and she received her commission on May 9, 1994. Batts elected to take senior status beginning on April 13, 2012. She was succeeded in this position by Vernon Broderick.[3][4][5]
Noteworthy cases
NYC bottled water deposit (2009)
On October 23, 2009, Judge Batts upheld the legality of a New York law requiring deposits for bottled water. Judge Batts issued an order that on October 31, 2009, there must be a five cent recycling deposit added on to the normal selling price for bottled water. Business groups in New York filed suit claiming that the law violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.[6]
See also
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
- United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Bay Area Reporter "Schumer urges Obama to appoint gay man to federal bench," February 18, 2010
- ↑ Fordham Law News "Fordham Law Mourns Death of Hon. Deborah Batts, First African American Faculty Member," February 3, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge Deborah A. Batts," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 1043 — Deborah A. Batts — The Judiciary," accessed July 10, 2017," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 103rd Congress," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ Albany Biz Journal, "Nickel deposits to be collected on bottled water in New York," October 26, 2009
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Richard Owen |
Southern District of New York 1994–2012 |
Succeeded by: Vernon Broderick
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 |
Adams • Ambrose • Barnes • Brinkema • Bucklew • Chasanow • Coffman • Daughtrey • Ferguson • Ginsburg • Hagen • Jackson • Lancaster • Leval • Lindsay • Messitte • Michael • Piersol • Saris • Schwartz • Seybert • Shanahan • Shaw • Stearns • Trager • Vazquez • Wilken • Wilson | ||
| 1994 |
Baer • Barkett • Batts • Beaty • Benavides • Bennett • Berrigan • Biery • Block • Borman • Breyer • Briones • Bryson • Bucklo • Burgess • Burrage • Cabranes • Calabresi • Carr • Casellas • Castillo • Chatigny • Chin • Cindrich • Coar • Collins • Cooper • Cote • Currie • Davis • Dominguez • Downes • Duval • Friedman • Furgeson • Garcia • Gertner • Gettleman • Gillmor • Gilmore • Gleeson • Haggerty • Hamilton • Hannah • Hawkins • Henry • Holmes • Hood • Hull • Hurley • Jack • Jones • Jones • Kaplan • Katz • Kern • Kessler • Koeltl • Lisi • Manning • McKee • McLaughlin • Melancon • Miles-LaGrange • Moore • Motz • Murphy • O'Malley • O'Meara • Oliver • Paez • B. Parker • F. Parker • R. Parker • Perry • Ponsor • Pooler • Porteous • Rendell • Riley • Robertson • Rogers • Ross • Russell • Sands • Sarokin • Scheindlin • Silver • Squatrito • Stewart • Sullivan • Tatel • Thompson • Timlin • Urbina • Vanaskie • Vance • Walls • Wells • Williams | ||
| 1995 |
Arterton • Atlas • Black • Blake • Briscoe • Tena Campbell • Todd Campbell • Chesney • Cole • Collier • Daniel • Davis • Dennis • Dlott • Donald • Duffy • Economus • Evans • Fallon • Folsom • Gaughan • Goodwin • Heartfield • Hunt • Illston • Jones • King • Kornmann • Lawson • Lenard • Lucero • Lynch • McKinley • Moody • Moore • Moskowitz • Murphy • Murtha • Nugent • O'Toole • Orlofsky • Pogue • Sessions • C. Smith • O. Smith • Stein • Thornburg • Tunheim • Wallach • Wardlaw • Webber • Whaley • Winmill • Wood | ||
| 1996 |
Broadwater • Clevert • Fenner • Gershon • Gottschall • Greenaway • Hinkle • Jones • Kahn • Laughrey • Lemmon • Marten • Miller • Molloy • Montgomery • Pregerson • Rakoff • Sargus • Tashima • Thomas • Zapata | ||
| 1997 |
Adelman • Bataillon • Breyer • Caputo • Casey • Chambers • Clay • Damrell • Droney • Friedman • Gajarsa • Garland • Gilman • Gold • Gwin • Hall • Hayden • Hull • Ishii • Jenkins • Kauffman • Kennedy • Kimball • Kollar-Kotelly • Lazzara • Marbley • Marcus • Middlebrooks • Miller • Moon • Pratt • Rendell • Sippel • Siragusa • Snyder • Thrash | ||
| 1998 |
Aiken • Barbier • Barzilay • Berman • Buttram • Carter • Collins • Dawson • Dimitrouleas • Fletcher • Fogel • Frank • Graber • Hellerstein • Herndon • James • Johnson • Kane • Kelly • G. King • R. King • Lasnik • Lee • Lemelle • Lindsay • Lipez • Manella • Matz • McCuskey • McKeown • McMahon • Mickle • Mollway • Mordue • Moreno • Morrow • Munley • Murphy • Pallmeyer • Pauley • Polster • Pooler • Rawlinson • Ridgway • R. Roberts • V. Roberts • Sack • Scott • Seitz • Seymour • Shea • Silverman • Sleet • Sotomayor • Steeh • Story • Straub • Tagle • Tarnow • Trauger • Traxler • Tyson • Wardlaw • Whelan • Young | ||
| 1999 |
Alsup • Barry • Brown • Buchwald • Cooper • Eaton • Ellison • Feess • Fisher • Gould • Guzman • Haynes • Hibbler • Hochberg • Hurd • Huvelle • Jordan • Katzmann • Kennelly • Linn • Lorenz • Lynn • Marrero • Murguia • Pannell • Pechman • Pepper • Phillips • Schreier • Stewart • Underhill • Ward • Williams • Wilson | ||
| 2000 |
Ambro • Antoon • Battani • Berzon • Bolton • Brady • Bye • Cavanaugh • Daniels • Darrah • Dawson • Dyk • Fuentes • Garaufis • Garcia-Gregory • Hamilton • Huck • Hunt • Lawson • Lefkow • Lynch • Martin • McLaughlin • Moody • Murguia • Paez • Pisano • Presnell • Rawlinson • Reagan • Schiller • Singal • Steele • Surrick • Swain • Tallman • Teilborg • Tucker • Whittemore | ||
Federal courts:
Second Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York
State courts:
New York Court of Appeals • New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division • New York Supreme Court • New York County Courts • New York City Courts • New York Town and Village Courts • New York Family Courts • New York Surrogates' Courts • New York City Civil Court • New York City Criminal Courts • New York Court of Claims • New York Problem Solving Courts
State resources:
Courts in New York • New York judicial elections • Judicial selection in New York
