[5] Batts received a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Radcliffe College in 1969, and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1972.

Outside of work, Batts dedicated her time to the RISE program, aiming to lower recidivism amongst at-risk offenders and continued to teach at the Fordham University School of Law.

[6] On January 27, 1994, following the recommendation of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, President Bill Clinton nominated Batts to a seat on the Southern District left open in 1989 when Judge Richard Owen took senior status.

Bourne Co., which holds the copyright, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of their music with antisemitic lyrics.

[7] Bourne argued that "I Need a Jew" uses the copyrighted melody of "When You Wish Upon a Star" without commenting on that song, and that it was therefore not a First Amendment-protected parody per the ruling in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.[8][9] On March 16, 2009, Batts held that Family Guy did not infringe on Bourne's copyright when it transformed the song for comical use in an episode.