 He was elected overseer of the poor, and in 1787, to the Court of Requests, a small claims court for 19 years, handling over 100,000 claims.Both Hutton's houses were destroyed in the Birmingham Riots in 1791 (the Priestley Riots) leading to his historical account in "Narrative of the riots".He managed to recover £5,390 in a claim for damages against the town.