He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ithaca College in 1977 and a Juris Doctor from the University at Buffalo Law School in 1981.

In June 1996, he was appointed by Governor George Pataki to serve as a judge on the Erie County, New York Family Court and was elected the following November to a full 10-year term.

[4][failed verification] In October 2003, when Battle announced he was dropping charges, a Buffalo reporter asked whether he planned to apologize to Benatta.

[citation needed] The Los Angeles Times reported that Benatta had been held for a total of 1,780 days, which gave him the distinction of being held on jail without charge longer than any other suspect in the U.S.[6] Battle began his service as director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) at the United States Department of Justice on June 6, 2005.

[8][9] Battle is a senior partner at Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP in New York, focusing on commercial litigation, white-collar criminal defense, and appeals.