Background
He was born in Hackney, London. Butler was the son of Joshua Butler and Esther, née Lampel.
He was born in Hackney, London. Butler was the son of Joshua Butler and Esther, née Lampel.
Butler attended Ilford County High School before reading Law at London School of Economics, graduating with an Bachelor of Laws in 1952. Following this, he was awarded a Bachelor of Civil Law from Magdalen College, Oxford in 1954.
Butler was called to the bar in the Middle Temple, 1955. His career was interrupted by National Service. He was a 2nd lieutenant in the Royal Army Service Corps, 1956-1957.
He became a Queen's Counsel in 1975.
He was a Recorder of the Crown Court, 1977-1982, a Circuit Judge, 1982-1997, and senior judge at Southwark Crown Court, 1984-1997. After his retirement, he was invited to conduct inquiries and produce reports into:
the English Rugby Football Union, 1997
Central Casework at the Crown Prosecution Service, 1999
prosecution of Regina v Doran and others, 2000
Treasury Counsel instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service, 2000
The 1981 New Cross fire that killed 13 black youngsters, 2004
In August 2005, he made controversial remarks that human rights laws stood in the way of attempts to crack down on terrorists, because after the terrorist attacks on London in July, Britain was no longer in a "normal" state where human rights legislation was always beneficial.
He was a member of the Master Control Console.