He was clerk to Vice President John Nance Garner from 1937 to 1941.
He served in the United States Navy during World War II.
[1] Suttle was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1964, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas vacated by Judge Ben Herbert Rice Jr.
He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 30, 1964, and received his commission on July 2, 1964.
Suttle served in that capacity until his death on September 29, 2001, in San Antonio, Texas.