Louis Bennett Butler Jr. (born February 15, 1952) is a former justice of the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

. Butler was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Jim Doyle in August 2004; his term expired on July 31, 2008. He is the

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to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He was nominated by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

to serve as a

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in the

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, but his nomination never received a

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in the Senate.

Biography

Louis Butler was born and raised in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He earned his bachelor's degree from

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

in 1973 and his

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from the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

in 1977. After serving as an assistant state

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

from 1979 to 1992, Louis Butler was appointed to the

Municipal Court A city court or municipal court is a court of law with jurisdiction limited to a city or other municipality. It typically addresses "violations of city ordinances and may also have jurisdiction over minor criminal cases...and over certain civil cas ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

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. He served as a municipal judge until 2002, when he was elected a

Wisconsin circuit court The Wisconsin circuit courts are the general trial courts in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. There are currently 69 circuits in the state, divided into 9 judicial administrative districts. Circuit court judges hear and decide both civil and crimina ...

judge for

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, defeating incumbent judge Robert Crawford. Butler also served as an adjunct professor at

Marquette University Law School Marquette University Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is one of two law schools in Wisconsin and the only private law school in the state. Founded in 1892 as the Mil ...

. 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 Michael J. Gableman (born September 18, 1966) is an American lawyer and former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (2008–2018). A Republican Party (US), Republican, he has been described as a hard-line conservative. From June 2021 until ...

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 ''

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'' argued this loss stemmed from opinions he wrote in medical malpractice, search and seizure, and product liability cases. Business groups, including Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), paid for a large number of issue ads in this campaign cycle, although the Butler campaign outspent Gableman's by several hundred thousand dollars. Since his defeat, Butler agreed to serve a two-year term as Justice-in-Residence at the

, where he would teach several courses and clinics for the 2008–2010 academic years. On September 30, 2009, President

nominated Butler to serve as

. However, his nomination was returned to the President on December 24, 2009. 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.

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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."

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

External links

''Here and Now'' (PBS Wisconsin) interview with Incumbent Justice Louis Butler
before the We the People Candidate Debate on March 28, 2008 in the

American Archive of Public Broadcasting The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH Educational Foundation, founded through the efforts of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The AAPB is a national effort to di ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Louis B. 1952 births Living people Lawyers from Chicago Lawrence University alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni African-American judges Wisconsin circuit court judges Justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Public defenders University of Wisconsin Law School faculty 21st-century African-American lawyers 20th-century African-American lawyers

Biography

See also

External links

References