Out Spotlight

Today's Out Spotlight became the first openly gay federal judge upon her 1994 appointment to the U.S. District Court in New York. Today's Out Spotlight is Deborah A. Batts.

Deborah A. Batts, was born in Philadelphia on April 13, 1947, and earned a. B.A. in government from Radcliffe College in 1969 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1972.


Making an unusual choice for a woman of her generation, Batts decided to obtain a law degree. She received a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1972. A portrait of the judge now hangs at Harvard, a place not known for its diversity. It is the first portrait of an African-American woman or an out person to be displayed at the school.

She spent the year of 1972-73 as a law clerk for Judge Lawrence W. Pierce of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, the district she now serves. Batts then became an associate at the prominent New York City corporate law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where she remained from 1973 to 1979. She handled cases involving securities law, antitrust violations, and libel charges.

Batts left the riches of corporate law for a less prosperous life as an assistant U.S. Attorney in 1979. Serving with the Criminal Division of the Southern District of New York, she prosecuted cases ranging from armed robbery to international art theft. By this point, she had gained a reputation in legal circles as bright, personable, and energetic.

In 1984, she accepted an offer to join the faculty of Fordham University in New York City as an associate professor. She became the first African-American member of the faculty of the Fordham Law School and remained with the university until 1994.

She was a Special associate counsel to the Department of Investigation for New York City from 1990 to 1991.

On January 27, 1994, following the recommendation of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, President Bill Clinton appointed Batts to a seat on the Southern District left open in 1989 when Judge Richard Owen took senior status. Batts was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 6, 1994, and received her commission on May 9, 1994. She continues to serve as an adjunct at Fordham.

Batts has been low-key about her sexuality but has not hidden it. A member of the Lesbian and Gay Law Association of Greater New York, she once urged a graduating class at Fordham Law School to enact laws to protect against anti-gay discrimination.

Her unwillingness to be a gay rights activist undoubtedly aided her rise to the federal bench. Recommended by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York, she was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1994.

The earlier nomination by Clinton of another lesbian--Roberta Achtenberg, as undersecretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development--met with strong opposition. However, the Senate Judiciary Committee never inquired about Batts' sexual orientation, and the Senate quickly confirmed the appointment. Batts began service on the federal bench on June 23, 1994.

Bates has proceeded over many high profile cases including:

1999 - criminal trial of Cheng Yong Wang and Xingqi Fu, charged in scheme to arrange transplant of organs taken from executed Chinese prisoners.

2001-04 - criminal trial of Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, charged with stabbing jail guard while awaiting separate trial in 1998 United States embassy bombings conspiracy.

2006 - civil suit against former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Christine Todd Whitman alleging that she misled people near World Trade Center site about risks of toxic air pollution after September 11, 2001 attacks.

2008 - commercial litigation between Exxon Mobil and PdVSA with regards to Venezuela's expropriation of Exxon assets in the Orinoco Basin of Venezuela.

2009 - litigation regarding the publication of an unauthorized "sequel" to "Catcher in the Rye". Batts ordered an injunction to stop the book to going to press.


Very little is known about Batts's personal life. Divorced with two children, she has refused to discuss much of her life in an attempt to avoid becoming known as the "gay judge."

She has described being a lesbian as "definitely an important part" of her life, but has added that it is only one of many important parts of her life: "I am also a very devoted mother, I'm an attorney, a former prosecutor, and I'm an African American."

On November 12, 2011, however, Judge Batts announced her marriage to Dr. Gwen Zornberg, a lead medical epidemiologist for the Food and Drug Administration. The couple wed in Washington, D.C. at the St. Gregory Hotel. The ceremony was officiated by Emily C. Hewitt, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims.

Batts' rise is evidence of a changing climate for gay men and lesbians in the United States. Once considered too deviant to hold positions of trust, openly gay men and lesbians could not hope to serve on the federal bench until Batts broke that barrier.

Her achievement has helped to elevate the status of gay men and lesbians, especially since she has earned wide respect for the way in which she performs her job. Still, it is worth noting that she remains the only openly gay person on the federal bench.

A Good Read

Just a few weeks ago, while Jake was filming Prisoners he went into the studio to record.  But record what?

A rap album about  kale?

A soulful interpretation of the song stylings of  Mrs.  Miller?

Or maybe stand up comedy album ?

Nope, nope and nope.  He went back to the classics.

Jake recorded an audio book for  F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatbsy.

It is no coincidence that this new audio book is coming out in preview of new film version by director Baz Lurhmann.  And two of it stars are former co-stars and friends of Jake,  Carey Mulligan and Tobey McGuire.

 Jake takes on the voice by Nicholas "Nick" Carraway, the narrator of the story of his mysterious neighbor in West Egg, Long Island, Jay Gatsby and his cousin Daisy Buchanan and those in his new circle of friends and acquaintances.

The audio book comes out on Tuesday your can pre-order it here and right now you can hear a preview of Jake reading the opening of the classic novel:



Hmmm Nick, from Long Island. 

Never pictured Jake as Nick.  He seems more Jay

 ........ Austin as Nick ...yeah could see that

Daisy?  Daisy who.

Type A Project

On Sunday Austin popped up on twitter to wish everyone a Happy Easter and hinted at an announcement about a new project.

I have some great news that I will announce next week. New Project. Happy Easter Y'all. - Aus10

And what better day of the week to announce it, than Austin Friday, because when you have your own day of the week you gotta. Even Jake doesn't have his own day.

Just finishing up week 2 of the new project. One of the coolest things I've ever done. But they said I can't talk about it yet. I will soon! - Aus10

Now it looks like Austin has been working for this project for 2 weeks.  What's  not sure if that's 2 consecutive weeks or two weeks total.

But that begs the questions: What is it? When did it start and when can you see it? Where is he when he is doing it?



And when there's questions there's a Top Ten List.

Top Ten Project Austin might be up to and can't talk about yet.

10. Ran away and joined the circus,  the Cirque du Soleil  O show at The Bellagio.


9.  At cooking school, so Jake might let him use the kitchen without adult supervision.



8.  Filming the next season of Splash.

7.  At the Bella Blue -School of Burlesque.  Week 2 assignment - tassel spins
 

6. Bat boy for the Texas Rangers

5. While the Duck Dynasty dudes are holding out for a new contract,  Dad, Austin and Rowdy are at the ranch filming A&E's new replacement Plugged Nichols.



4.  Second week of rehearsals for  Baywatch the Musical.  



3. Working as an intern at GQ - hoping to score good swag and snappy accessories.



2.  Wanting to be like Papa (Hemingway) Training for the running of the bulls

 and the number #1 project Austin's been working on

Zombie time - Season 5 Walking Dead


Happy Austin Friday!

Thumbs up Thumbs down

The late Roger Ebert usually gave Jake's movies good reviews (ok, so not Bubble Boy) overall Ebert liked Jake's movies.    But there is one that Ebert was not a fan of and it might be a surprise.

It was Donnie Darko.

 It might be a cult classic, and at near the top of many movie lists, but in the Chicago Sun-Times he only gave Darko 2.5 stars,  which in thumbs that's a thumbs down.

" Richard Kelly, the first-time writer-director, is obviously talented--not least at creating a disturbing atmosphere out of the materials of real life. His mysterious jet engine is a masterstroke. He sees his characters freshly and clearly, and never reduces them to formulas. In Jake Gyllenhaal, he finds an actor able to suggest an intriguing kind of disturbance; the character is more curious than frightened, more quixotic than eccentric, and he sets a nice tone for the movie. But somehow the control fades in the closing scenes, and our hands, which have been so full, close on emptiness. ''Donnie Darko'' is the one that got away. But it was fun trying to land it."  (Review)

But Jake shouldn't be too worried, look at the company Darko's in not being liked by Ebert.

 "A Clockwork Orange"
 "Dead Poets Society"
 "The Fight Club"
 "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"
 "Reservoir Dogs"
 "Full Metal Jacket"
 "Straw Dogs"
 "Blue Velvet"
 "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"
 "Harold and Maude"
 "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
 "Leon: The Professional"

Stage and Screen

Jake has won award for both stage and screen and Jake's return to the stage this past fall is potentially awarding. 

Today it was announced that Jake was nominated for the Lucille Lortel Awards, which honors achievements in Off-Broadway performances.

Jake was nominated for Outstanding Featured Actor for his New York stage debut in If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet. Also nominated for Outstanding Featured Actor are: David Wilson Barnes (“Don’t Go Gentle”); Chuck Cooper (“The Piano Lesson”); Zach Grenier (“StorefrontChurch”) and Mark Nelson (“My Name Is Asher Lev”).

If There is also received a nomination for Outstanding Scenic Design as well as a nomination for Jake's co-star Annie Funke for Outstanding Featured Actress.

The awards will be handed out May 5th.

Good Luck Jake,  Beowulf, and Annie.

Shine Bright Like a Diamond

Can't forget Austin.  He might not tip his cap to every team in Major League Baseball, but he's done his time playing .

On the small screen 

And in  the big show too.

 Here he is action in Full Count/Lenexa One Mile



And while he was making Full Count Austin hit the majors.

Lidsville

With Opening Day today, it's a good time to look at all baseball teams Jake's tipped his cap to:

There's the Dodgers

Well he grew up in LA

Then there were the Nationals when he was in DC

Of course the whole Yankees things

Well since the buzz now is how Jake is a New Yorker now

After he was in Pittsburgh he went Pirate

And now since filming in Atlanta he's popped up on Sunday in a Brave's cap.

But come on Jake you aren't fooling anyone, you're a Sox fan, so just stop the Mad Hatter thing, and stick to your Sox.