(CNN) Deborah Batts, the nation's first openly gay member of the federal judiciary, has died . 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. Batts got her start in 1972 as a clerk for then federal Judge Lawrence Pierce who served on the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. "Judge Batts was a beloved member of our community and will be greatly missed. As the first African American woman to receive tenure and the first openly LGBTQ federal judge, she broke barriers and opened doors," Matthew Diller, Dean of Fordham Law School, said in a statement.

Source: CNN February 04, 2020 17:37 UTC