When Judge Deborah A. Batts was confirmed to the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York in 1994, she became the first openly LGBTQ+ Article III federal judge in United States history. Until the confirmation of Judge Batts, the federal judiciary did not represent the LGBTQ+ community, leaving many LGBTQ+ Americans distrustful and wary of the federal judiciary. Not only did LGBTQ+ litigants fear bias impacting their cases, LGBTQ+ state court judges, attorneys, legal professionals, and law students did not see a future for themselves in the federal judiciary. For over a decade, Judge Batts remained the only openly LGBTQ+ federal judge until 2011, when Judge Paul Oetken was confirmed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Today, despite 9.3% of adult Americans identifying as LGBTQ+, only 3% of active federal circuit and district courts judges are openly LGBTQ+. Notably, the United States has never had an openly bisexual, transgender, or nonbinary Article III federal judge. 

Americans, including LGBTQ+ Americans, deserve federal courts that reflect the communities they serve. Because federal judicial officers play a crucial role in our communities, it is critical that federal judges come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. The National LGBTQ+ Bar strongly believes that diverse perspectives make the bench stronger and lead to better judgments. Moreover, when members of the public see themselves and their experiences represented in the administration of justice, public confidence in our legal system and the judgements it produces increases. To help diversify the judiciary and increase the number of openly LGBTQ+ judges, the National LGBTQ+ Bar routinely supports LGBTQ+ judicial nominees, fosters relationships with LGBTQ+ judicial organizations, and provides resources for LGBTQ+ legal professionals interested in the bench.

You can learn more about our judicial programming and resources here.

For more data regarding the demographic composition of our federal courts, we encourage you to visit the American Constitution Society’s (ACS) Diversity of the Federal Bench webpage. The National LGBTQ+ Bar would also like to thank the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges for their contributions to this project. Individuals interested in appointment to the federal judiciary may view current and future vacancies here.

District Court Judges

There are 20 currently serving openly LGBTQ+ district court judges.

States highlighted red do not contain any federal district courts with openly LGBTQ+ judges. States highlighted blue contain at least one federal district court with at least one openly LGBTQ+ judge. Click on a state to view the number of openly LGBTQ+ judges serving in each district within the selected state. Alternatively, click on a jurisdiction in the list below the map to see more information regarding the number of openly LGBTQ+ federal judges.