President Barack Obama nominated a visiting member of the University of Wisconsin Law School faculty to a United States federal court seat, UW officials said Tuesday.

UW professor Louis Butler has been nominated by Obama to be the federal judge of the Western District of Wisconsin U.S. District Court, according to Kathryn Hendley, associate dean at the UW Law School.

Hendley said Butler is a visiting professor, which means he does not have a permanent position.

Despite Butler’s visiting status, students have not been deterred from learning from the former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, Hendley said.

“We’ve appreciated the time we’ve had with Professor Butler and students enjoyed the opportunity to interact with him,” she said.

The confirmation process Butler faces relies heavily on political factors, according to Donald Downs, UW professor of Political Science.

Butler already completed two steps in the process by receiving a nomination from the president and appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, UW Law professor Robin Alta Charo said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald.

However, he still has to have an additional hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee before they vote. The full Senate then votes on the nomination.

The political factors involve getting the votes, meaning Obama will talk to senators, including Wisconsin’s own Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., Downs said.

“Butler is very liberal,” Downs said. “Opposition might arise in the senate…it could become fairly controversial because he is a liberal and Republicans might resist it.”

Butler has no opponents, and the decision of the Senate is the only thing that could prevent him from becoming a federal judge, Downs said.

Downs said he believes if Butler is confirmed he would accept the position.

“If Butler is rewarded the seat of federal judge he would take it at the drop of a hat,” Downs said. “He wants it.”

When asked if Butler will fit the position, Downs had no comment.

If Butler receives the seat, Hendley said she thinks UW will continue to have a close relationship with him.

“We would have only good feelings if he left,” she said.

Charo said the nomination demonstrates that UW Law School faculty are considered some of the best jurists in the nation.

Butler was previously nominated by Obama for the same position in 2009, but his name was returned to the president after the Senate recessed without voting on him.

Elected in 2004, Butler served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court until 2008 when he was defeated by current Justice Michael Gableman.

Gableman came under fire in April 2010 for an ad aired during the 2008 campaign, which stated Butler defended a child sex offender named Reuben Lee Mitchell, who went on to molest another child.

A court found the ad violated the Wisconsin Code of Judicial Conduct because it did not reveal the outcome of the case, which Butler lost. The ad also did not clarify that Mitchell committed the later crime upon his release from prison.