Papers of William J. Butler
"Bill Butler's commitment to the cause of international human rights is so well known that it does not need to be repeated by me. I would just like to say that whenever I have called on him on behalf of my Office, whether to attend the Ocalan trial or to act as my adviser, he has responded positively, notwithstanding the many demands on his time. He has truly put his human rights beliefs into practice in a very tangible way. So to receive an honor in Bill Butler's name has a particular resonance for me."
Mary Bourke Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, March 9, 2000, Cincinnati, Ohio
About the Collection
The Robert S. Marx Law Library is privileged to have been selected as the repository for the Papers of William J. Butler. During the second half of the twentieth century Mr. Butler was widely recognized as an individual who worked diligently and consistently to further the cause of human rights both at home and around the globe.
The Papers of William J. Butler include speeches, letters, congressional testimony and other personal and professional writings that document the human rights contributions and other public service of William J. Butler. Also included in this collection are: proceedings of annual meetings of representatives of sovereign nations on human rights and foreign policy held from 1977 to 1999; executive documents of the International Commission of Jurists and the American Association of the International Commission of Jurists; reports of human rights missions to numerous countries; materials generated during international human rights trials observed by William Butler; and, two landmark civil rights cases he argued and won in the U.S. Supreme Court, namely, Engel v. Vitale (1962), "the school prayer case" and Kent v. Dulles (1958), "the passport case."
The collection is fully described by an online finding aid prepared by the staff of the Robert S. Marx Law Library. This finding aid includes an index to the material in the collection as well as a detailed inventory. It also includes a list of selected publications by Mr. Butler and links to related items in online library catalogs.
Access to the Collection
To make arrangements to work with the collection, please contact:
Rhonda Wiseman
Preservation & Archives
Robert S. Marx Law Library
University of Cincinnati College of Law
PO Box 210142
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0142
Telephone: (513) 556-0165
Email: rhonda.wiseman@uc.edu