Jonathan Butler (Head of Team)

Call  1992  Gray’s Inn

Appointments

Tribunal Judge, First Tier Tribunal (HESC) Mental Health 2001

Recorder  2009

Community Care & Mental Health Law; Court of Protection; Judicial Review

His practice includes  (1) community care law; (2) mental health law; (3) Court of Protection; He has written two textbooks in respect of these areas, and is also a regular speaker and trainer on these subjects, both at a local and national level.  He represents and advises on all aspects of community care law (eg assessment of community care needs of adults, assessment of community care needs of children and older adolescents (particularly those with mental health problems), provision of accommodation, finance and charging, and the respective roles of health and social care providers). He sits as a Tribunal Judge on the specialist Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services Panel (children detained under the MHA 1983), and has trained both full and part time Tribunal Judges in this area of law as well as having written a formal guidance note for Responsible Authorities.  He is also instructed by local authorities and health trusts to represent them at inquests, where either a child or a vulnerable adult has died.  He sits as a Recorder (Civil) on the North Eastern Circuit. 

Publications

Community Care Law & Local Authority Handbook  - Jordans 2008
Mental Health Tribunals: Law, Practice and Procedure – Jordans 2009

Relevant Reported Cases

C v Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council & Ord [2011] EWHC 3321 (COP)

 

Re (R) (a child)(Care Proceedings: Causation) [2011] EWHC 1715 (Fam).

Re GK (Patient: Habeas Corpus) [1999] MHLR 128
(Mental Health/Administrative Law)

R v Ashworth Hospital & Ors ex parte H; R v  (1) Mental Health Review Tribunal for West Midlands and North West Region (2) London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (3) Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow Health Authority ex parte Ashworth Hospital [2002] EWCA Civ 923
(Mental Health/Administrative Law)

A Local Authority v Z & The Official Solicitor [2004] EWHC 2817 (Fam) [2005] 1 WLR 959
(Mental Health/Local Government Law)


R (on the application of Michael Woods) v Rochdale MBC [2009] EWHC 323 (Admin)(Administrative/Local Government Law)
 

Recent Articles

S.117 MHA 1983 re-visited:the liability of the State and the existence of a duty of care (Journal of Mental Health Law – forthcoming 2010)

The Child as Vulnerable Patient (Review FLJ August 2009 Vol 39 425)

Children & Mental Health Services – Bridging the Gaps (Weightmans Bulletin July 2009)

Mental Health Law for Family Lawyers: an overview (Family Law Journal, May 2009 Vol 39 425)

Community Care Law and Family Law: an introduction (Family Law Journal, April 2008 Vol 38 343)


Recent Talks/Presentations/Training

March 2010  Introduction to Judicial Review (Private Law Solicitors,    Liverpool)

May 2010  Transitional Provisions/CAMHS (Tribunal Service)

October 2010  Mental Health Law & Practice (Butterworths, London)
    (Keynote speaker Baroness Hale of Richmond)

December 2010  Training on Court of Protection (Local Authority SSD)

April 2011   Mental Health Law  (UK Association of Women Judges in Leeds)

November 2011. The Older Child, Mental Health Law, Care Planning and Transition Services (with Gwynneth Knowles QC to the National Family Law Bar Association conference at Chester) The conference was chaired by the Honourable Mr Justice Peter Jackson.'