United States District Judge Deborah Batts, the first openly gay member of the federal judiciary, has died at age 72, just three months before she was set to preside over Michael Avenatti's embezzlement trial.

Batts passed away on Sunday. So far, her cause of death has not been made public.

'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,' Manhattan federal Chief Judge Colleen McMahon said in a statement.

United States District Judge Deborah Batts, the first openly gay member of the federal judiciary, has died at age 72

Batts was set to preside over Michael Avenatti's embezzlement trial related to Stormy Daniels (pictured together in January 2019) in April

'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.'

'Our hearts are broken at her premature passing,' McMahon added, reported the New York Post.

Judge Batts was expected to oversee Avenatti's trial on charges that he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his famous former client, porn star Stormy Daniels.

In October, Batts set the trial for April 21. It is expected to last one to two weeks.

Avenatti, 48, was arrested in New York in March 2019. Manhattan federal prosecutors have charged him with stealing nearly $300,000 from Daniels in the course of representing her and helping her secure a book deal, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Daniels gained fame after she claimed an affair with President Donald Trump before he took office.

The prosecutors said Avenatti diverted two $148,750 installment payments from Daniels' $800,000 book advance by forging her signature in a letter to her literary agent and directing that the money be sent to his bank account.

Batts, a Harvard Law School graduate, was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1994 by President Bill Clinton

Avenatti eventually paid $148,750 to Daniels after obtaining the funds from another source, according to prosecutors. However, when Daniels asked about the second payment, Avenatti falsely told Daniels the publisher 'owes me a payment' and that he was 'on it,' prosecutors said.

Avenatti's lawyer, Dean Steward, said at a pre-trial hearing last fall that he was considering filing a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that it was motivated by the 'vindictiveness' of Avenatti's political enemies in the Trump administration.

Batts, however, expressed skepticism, saying the prosecutors' office 'is not known for being vindictive.'

Avenatti has denied the charges in the Daniels case, in a separate case that he tried to extort Nike for $25million and charges in Los Angeles that he defrauded clients of millions of dollars.

A native of Philadelphia, Batts earned her Bachelor's degree from Radcliffe College 1969 and then went on to graduate from Harvard Law School in 1972.

After a distinguished career in both the private and public sectors, Batts was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, becoming the first - and at the time only - member of the LGBTQ community to sit on the federal bench.

She also served as an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law.

In 2001, Harvard Law School unveiled a portrait of Judge Batts, which was commissioned by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Alumni/ae Committee of the Harvard Law School Association.

In accepting the portrait, Harvard Law School Dean Robert C. Clark described it as 'a superb tribute to this distinguished member of the bench.'