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Duane Benton
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Assumed office
July 2, 2004
Appointed byGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byTheodore McMillian
Chief Justice of Missouri
In office
July 1, 1997 – June 30, 1999
Preceded byJohn C. Holstein
Succeeded byWilliam Ray Price Jr.
Judge of the Missouri Supreme Court
In office
August 16, 1991 – July 2, 2004
Appointed byJohn Ashcroft
Preceded byWilliam Howard Billings
Succeeded byMary Rhodes Russell
Personal details
Born
William Duane Benton

(1950-09-08) September 8, 1950 (age 73)
Springfield, Missouri
Residence(s)Kansas City, Missouri
EducationNorthwestern University (BA)
Yale University (JD)
Memphis State University (MBA)
University of Virginia (LLM)

William Duane Benton (born September 8, 1950), known professionally as Duane Benton, is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Education

Benton graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972, and received a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1975, where he was Managing Editor of the Yale Law Journal[1] and graduated alongside Justice Samuel Alito. Benton also has a Master of Business Administration from Memphis State University and a Master of Laws from the University of Virginia School of Law. Subsequently, Benton was selected as a Danforth Fellow at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he completed the Senior Executive's Program.[2]

Career

Prior to joining the federal bench, Benton served on the Supreme Court of Missouri from 1991 to 2004, where he was Chief Justice from 1997 to 1999. Benton was director of the Missouri Department of Revenue in the administration of then-Governor John Ashcroft from 1989 to 1991, and served as an administrative aide to a United States Congressman Wendell Bailey from 1981 to 1982. From 1983 to 1989, Benton practiced law in Jefferson City, Missouri. Benton served as a captain in the U.S. Navy/Naval Reserve from 1972 to 2002, and as judge advocate in the U.S. Navy from 1975 to 1979. Benton has taught at the University of Missouri School of Law, and at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.

Federal judicial service

Benton was nominated by President George W. Bush on February 12, 2004, to a seat vacated by Theodore McMillian and confirmed just over four months later by the United States Senate by a voice vote on June 24, 2004.[3] He received his commission on July 2, 2004.[4]

In 2018, Judge Benton found that Missouri's requirement of a state license to braid hair did not violate the Constitution.[5]

Personal life

Benton currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri, with his wife Sandra and has two children.

References

  1. ^ "Missouri Society of Attorney CPAs".
  2. ^ "Honorable Duane Benton". LegalSpan. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  3. ^ Pres. Nom. 1369, 108th Cong. (2004).
  4. ^ Duane Benton at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  5. ^ Note, Recent Case: Eighth Circuit Upholds Licensing Requirement for African-Style Hair Braiders, 131 Harv. L. Rev. 2463 (2018).

External links

Legal offices Preceded byWilliam Howard Billings Judge of the Missouri Supreme Court 1991–2004 Succeeded byMary Rhodes Russell Preceded byJohn C. Holstein Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court 1997–1999 Succeeded byWilliam Ray Price, Jr. Preceded byTheodore McMillian Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit 2004–present Incumbent
Judges of the United States courts of appeals
Categories