Louis B. Butler

Last updated

The Honorable
Louis B. Butler Jr.
Louis B. Butler in 2009.png
Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
In office
August 1, 2004 –July 31, 2008

Louis Bennett Butler Jr. (born February 15, 1952) is a former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Butler was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Jim Doyle in August 2004; his term expired on July 31, 2008. He is the first African American to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as a United States district judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, but his nomination never received a vote in the Senate.

Contents

Biography

Louis Butler was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He earned his bachelor's degree from Lawrence University in 1973 and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1977. [1]

After serving as an assistant state public defender from 1979 to 1992, Louis Butler was appointed to the Municipal Court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as a municipal judge until 2002, when he was elected a Wisconsin circuit court judge for Milwaukee County, defeating incumbent judge Robert Crawford. Butler also served as an adjunct professor at Marquette University Law School. [1]

Butler campaigned for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2000, but lost his election bid to incumbent Diane Sykes by a wide margin. After being appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2004, he was defeated by the Judge Michael Gableman in the April 1, 2008 elections. Butler was the first sitting Wisconsin Supreme Court justice to be defeated in a reelection campaign since 1967. The Wall Street Journal argued this loss stemmed from opinions he wrote in medical malpractice, search and seizure, and product liability cases. [2] Business groups, including Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), paid for a large number[ clarification needed ] of issue ads in this campaign cycle, although the Butler campaign outspent Gableman's by several hundred thousand dollars. [3]

Since his defeat, Butler agreed to serve a two-year term as Justice-in-Residence at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he would teach several courses and clinics for the 2008–2010 academic years. [4]

On September 30, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Butler to serve as United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. [5] However, his nomination was returned to the President on December 24, 2009. [6] Obama renominated Butler on January 20, 2010, but the Senate returned the nomination to the President on August 5, 2010. Obama then renominated Butler on September 13, 2010. NPR commented on the Senate's reluctance to confirm Butler in an August 4, 2011 article:

"Some of the longest waiting nominees, Louis Butler of Wisconsin, Charles Bernard Day of Maryland and Edward Dumont of Washington happen to be black or openly gay." [7]

His nomination was returned to the President on December 17, 2011, pursuant to the rules of the Senate. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abner Mikva</span> American politician and judge (1926–2016)

Abner Joseph Mikva was an American politician, federal judge, and legal scholar. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Mikva served in the United States House of Representatives representing Illinois's 2nd congressional district (1969–1973) and 10th congressional district (1975–1979). He was appointed as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by President Jimmy Carter, serving from 1979 to 1994. He served as the White House Counsel from 1994 to 1995 during Bill Clinton's presidency. He was one of the few people in modern times to serve in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the Federal government.

Stephen N. Six is an American attorney and former judge from Kansas who served as the state's 43rd Attorney General. He was nominated to serve as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on March 9, 2011. His nomination was returned to the President on December 17, 2011, pursuant to the rules of the Senate. He served as a partner at the Kansas City, New York, and San Diego based law firm, Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Gableman</span> Former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court

Michael J. Gableman is an American lawyer and former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. A Republican, he has been described as a hard-line conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Wisconsin elections</span>

The Wisconsin spring nonpartisan general election was held April 1, 2008. Voters statewide cast ballots for Wisconsin Supreme Court and an amendment to the state Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward M. Chen</span> American judge (born 1953)

Edward Milton Chen is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and former United States magistrate judge of the same court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">98th Wisconsin Legislature</span> Wisconsin legislative term for 2007-2008

The Ninety-Eighth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 3, 2007, through January 5, 2009, in regular session, though it adjourned for legislative activity on June 11, 2008. The legislature also held five special sessions during the term.

U.S. President Barack Obama nominated over 400 individuals for federal judgeships during his presidency. Of these nominations, Congress confirmed 329 judgeships, 173 during the 111th & 112th Congresses and 156 during the 113th and 114th Congresses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caitlin Halligan</span> American judge

Caitlin Joan Halligan is an American lawyer who has served as an associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals since April 2023. She served as Solicitor General of New York from 2001 until 2007. President Barack Obama nominated her several times to fill a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, but the U.S. Senate did not vote directly on the nomination, and in March 2013, Obama withdrew the nomination at her request.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelson S. Román</span> American judge (born 1960)

Nelson Stephen Román is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Bernard Day</span> American judge

Charles Bernard Day is a former United States magistrate judge and former nominee to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. His nomination to a life-tenure, federal district court judgeship during 2010 and 2011 ran aground amid opposition from Republican senators, who objected to moving forward with a United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing on his nomination after what were reported to be "insurmountable concerns" by Republicans over matters raised during Day's background investigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Nathan</span> American judge (born 1972)

Alison Julie Nathan is an American lawyer who has served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit since 2022. She served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 2011 to 2022. She previously served as associate White House counsel for President Barack Obama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert E. Bacharach</span> American judge (born 1959)

Robert Edwin Bacharach is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Elissa F. Cadish is an American lawyer who has served as a justice of the Nevada Supreme Court. She is a former nominee to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth J. Gonzales</span> American judge (born 1964)

Kenneth John Gonzales is an American attorney who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico and is a former United States attorney from the same district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Analisa Torres</span> American judge (born 1959)

Analisa Nadine Torres is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L. Felipe Restrepo</span> American judge (born 1959)

Luis Felipe Restrepo, known commonly as L. Felipe Restrepo, is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the United States Sentencing Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael P. Boggs</span> American judge

Michael P. Boggs is the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, a former judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals and a former nominee to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. He was appointed to the state Supreme Court by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred H. Bennett</span> American judge (born 1965)

Alfred Homer Bennett is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolando Olvera</span> American judge (born 1963)

Jose Rolando Olvera Jr. is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William F. Jung</span> American judge (born 1958)

William Frederic Jung is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

References

  1. 1 2 "Former Justices – Justice Louis B. Butler, Jr". Wisconsin Court System. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  2. ↑ Fund, John (April 5, 2008). "Wisconsin's Judicial Revolution". Wall Street Journal . Retrieved May 27, 2008.
  3. ↑ Basting, Thomas J. (May 2008). "President's Message: Gutter Politics and the Wisconsin Supreme Court". Wisconsin Lawyer. Madison, Wisconsin: wisbar.org. 81 (5). Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2008.
  4. ↑ Chaptman, Dennis (September 24, 2008). "Former state Supreme Court justice to teach at UW Law School". University of Wisconsin . Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Presidential Nominations sent to the Senate, 9/30/09". whitehouse.gov . September 30, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2009– via National Archives.
  6. ↑ "U.S. Senate: Nominations Failed or Returned to the President".
  7. ↑ Johnson, Carrie (August 4, 2011). "Obama Gets High Marks For Diversifying The Bench". NPR.
  8. ↑ "Senate Record for December 17, 2011". Archived from the original on July 4, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2011.


Legal offices
Preceded by
Robert W. Crawford
 Wisconsin Circuit Court Judgefor the Milwaukee Circuit, Branch 9
August 1, 2002 –July 31, 2004		Succeeded by
Paul R. Van Grunsven
Preceded by Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
August 1, 2004 –July 31, 2008		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.