Deborah A. Batts, U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York. Photo: Rick Kopstein Deborah A. Batts, U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York. (Photo: Rick Kopstein)

Deborah A. Batts, the nation's first openly gay federal judge, who died Monday at the age of 72, was remembered by New York's legal community as a "trailblazer" and devoted jurist who inspired generations of lawyers.

A Philadelphia native and former law professor, Batts had served on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, since her confirmation under President Bill Clinton in 1994. The court confirmed her death on Monday but did not provide additional details.

Batts took senior status in 2012 and served in that capacity until her passing on Monday. The cause of death was not immediately clear.

"Deborah Batts was a trailblazer in every respect: an openly gay African-American woman who became a United States District Judge after a distinguished career as a federal prosecutor and law professor," Colleen McMahon, chief judge of the Southern District said in a statement. "She will be remembered by her colleagues for her devotion to the work of the court, for her mentorship of a cadre of young lawyers of all backgrounds, and for her infectious smile and extraordinary collegiality."

McMahon said one of Batts' greatest contributions to the court came at the end of her life, as she oversaw the Southern District's RISE Courts, which allow offenders to earn reductions in their period of supervised release in exchange for participating in a special rehabilitative program under intensive judicial supervision.

"Judge Batts' devotion to these individuals and to their rehabilitation earned their loyalty and trust; it will be difficult to replace her," McMahon said. "Our hearts are broken at her premature passing."

Batts received her undergraduate degree from Radcliffe College in 1969 and earned her law degree from Harvard Law School in 1972. She clerked for former Judge Lawrence Pierce of the Southern District before working as a federal prosecutor from 1979 to 1984. She also taught property, legal research and writing at Fordham University Law School from 1984 to 1994, when she resigned her tenure to join the federal bench.

Her professional affiliations included the Bar Association of the City of New York, the Metropolitan Black Bar Association and the Lesbian and Gay Law Association of Greater New York, or LeGaL.

Henry "Hank" Greenberg, president of the New York State Bar Association, called Batts' death a "huge loss."

"She was revered by the bench and the bar alike, not only for her legal acumen and long career of service, but also for the number of students she taught during her time at Fordham University School of Law," Greenberg said in a statement. "Even when she assumed senior status, she kept a very busy docket, and she will be deeply missed by all New Yorkers as a judge's judge."

LeGaL, which honored Batts' distinguished service to the LGBT community with its Community Vision Award in 1995, said she was owed a "tremendous debt of gratitude" for her contributions to law and legal community.

"Judge Batts leaves behind a broad legacy for all New Yorkers as a trailblazer and an astute jurist," the group said. "Judge Batts was a member of the LGBT Bar Association of New York for many years, and her decades of public service are an inspiration to the diverse LGBT legal professionals this bar association represents."

At the time of her death, Batts was slated to preside over Michael Avenatti's planned trial on charges that he cheated adult film star and former client Stormy Daniels out of the proceeds of a book deal.

The trial, which was scheduled to begin in April, was expected to be delayed, and the case was reassigned Tuesday morning to McMahon.

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