Charles Henry Butler (June 18, 1859 – February 9, 1940) was an American lawyer and the tenth

reporter of decisions The Reporter of Decisions (sometimes known by other titles, such as Official Reporter or State Reporter) is the official responsible for publishing the decisions of a court. Traditionally, the decisions were published in books known as case repor ...

of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

, serving from 1902 to 1916. Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, his parents were William Allen, Mary R. (Marshall) Butler, he was the grandson of

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

Benjamin F. Butler. He attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, but did not graduate. Nevertheless, he was admitted to the New York bar in 1882 and practiced there until his appointment as reporter of decisions, in 1902. His book, ''Treaty Making Power of the United States'', was published in 1902. In 1898 he was a member of the Fairbanks-Herschell Commission that unsuccessfully attempted to resolve the

Alaska Boundary Dispute The Alaska boundary dispute was a territorial dispute between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which then controlled Canada's foreign relations. It was resolved by arbitration in 1903. The dispute had existe ...

, and in 1907 was a delegate to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

peace conference. Butler resigned as reporter because he found the work boring and he hated the anonymity. He resumed the practice of law in 1916 in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Before his death, he wrote an anecdotal account of his grandfather's, his father's, and his own dealings with the Supreme Court, ''A Century at the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States'', which, in 1942, was published by G. P. Putnam's Sons. He died in Washington.

References

Reporters of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States Diplomats for the United States New York (state) lawyers 1859 births 1940 deaths {{US-law-bio-stub