The first African American to sit on the Wisconsin Supreme Court court will teach at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.
Governor Jim Doyle appointed Louis Butler as a justice on the state Supreme Court in 2004. He lost his bid to be elected to the court in April, to Judge Michael Gableman. Butler will serve a two-year stint as the school's Justice in Residence, teaching courses in criminal law, appellate advocacy and legal process. Butler will also work with students and faculty in the Law School's moot court and clinical programs. Butler earned his law degree at UW Law School in 1977, worked in the state public defender's office from 1979-92, and was appointed as a judge on the city of Milwaukee Municipal Court in 1992. He served ther for 10 years before his election as a Milwaukee County circuit court judge in 2002.
Shortly after leaving the Supreme Court, Butler was named to head a city of Milwaukee task force looking into how the city awards and renews liquor licenses. He will also be part of a panel that will address merit selection as opposed to judicial elections at a Judicial Conference in Minnesota in December.