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Judge Betty Binns Fletcher, of the San Francisco-based 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, died Monday night, as reported by the Associated Press.

"She was one of the embattled liberals on the court, fighting for the little guy, whether it was for immigration or the planet," her son, Paul Fletcher, a Seattle physician, told The Seattle Times.

No cause of death has been made public.

Fletcher garnered the deep respect of attorneys and judges throughout her long career. Called a game-changer, she was "noted for her pivotal opinions on issues of discrimination, immigration, capital punishment and the rights of Native Americans," as stated by Bill Gates Sr. and two other notable attorneys on the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of her appointment to the court, as reported by the Associated Press.

President Jimmy Carter appointed Fletcher in 1979, but in 1996 she was forced into "senior status" by Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who invoked an old anti-nepotism law, so that her son could join the bench. She reportedly got Hatch back though by maintaining a full workload despite being semi-retired.

Fighting an increasingly conservative Supreme Court, many of Fletcher's favorite opinions were overturned said her son, 9th Circuit Judge William A. Fletcher, who in a 2010 tribute, called it her, ''distinguished record of reversals.''

Born in 1923 in Tacoma, Washington, Fletcher began attending Stanford University at age 16 and graduated from the University of Washington's law school in 1956. Her father was an attorney.

She is quoted as saying, "'Prejudice came down on me like a ton of bricks," when she tried to get a job.

Eventually she was hired to the Seattle firm that became K & L Gates, and later served as the first female president of the King County Bar Association. Famed U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas was one of her clients.

Judge Fletcher is survived by her daughters Susan French and Kathy Fletcher, and sons Paul and William, as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her husband, Bob, passed away last year. A memorial service will be held at noon on Nov. 10 at Benaroya Hall in Seattle.