User:Merry Osborne

Currently, Judge Benson presides as a federal judge for The United States District Court located in the Utah District (October 20, 2010).

Early Life and Education

Judge Benson is a Utah native and current resident. He was born, along with his identical twin brother, Lee Benson, on August 25, 1948 in Sandy, Utah. After graduating from Jordan High School, Mr. Benson attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1973, majoring in Physical Education with a minor in Political Science. That same year, Mr. Benson became a member of the charter class at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU. While in law school, he served as the editor for the BYU Law Review. Mr. Benson went on to receive his Juris Doctorate in the spring of 1976.

In addition to his legal studies, Judge Benson played professionally in the American Soccer League which has since been disbanded. He was a member of Utah’s team, The Golden Spikers. With soccer as a passion and an affinity for teaching, Judge Benson started and coached the first soccer team at Hillcrest High School in Midvale, Utah.

Legal Career

Upon graduation from BYU, Mr. Benson accepted a position with a Salt Lake City firm then known as Parr, Brown where he stayed less than one year. He was then offered and accepted a position as a litigator with the firm Snow, Christensen and Martineau, where he remained until 1984.

During his 8 year tenure at Snow, Christensen and Martineau, Judge Benson took a two year leave of absence to accept a position with the construction company Ralph M. Parsons Company based in Pasadena, California. With Ralph M. Parsons, he lived in a developing Saudi Arabian city known today as Yanbu. His duties as legal counsel for Parsons included reviewing contracts as well as handling lawsuits that arose with general contractors and employees. Legally, this was a complex assignment given the fact that there was no official court system and the country generally followed Sharia Law.

From 1984 through 1989, Judge Benson served in various U.S. government posts in Washington, D.C, included the following:

• Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution from 1984-1986 – Notable issues that arose during his employment included The Balanced Budget Amendment.
• Chief of Staff to Senator Orrin Hatch from 1986-1988
• Counsel to the Iran-Contra Congressional Investigating Committee 1987 – where he helped write the minority report with Dick Cheney.

Boland Amendment – The Defense Appropriations Act 411-0, authored by Massachusetts Representative Edward Boland. The Boland Amendment limited the assistance that was allowed by the U.S. Government to the Contra Rebels in their attempt to overthrow the Nicaraguan government. The Amendment was the impetus for the Iran-Contra Affair.

• Associate Deputy Attorney General to Deputy Attorney General Harold G. Christensen

In 1989, Judge Benson was appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah. He was recommended to the post by his former boss, Senator Orrin Hatch after the current U.S. attorney Brent Ward stepped down. (The U.S. Attorney’s Office of Utah has compiled historical information on those who have served in this position. Full Interview with Judge Benson regarding his tenure as U.S. Attorney). Mr. Benson’s recommendation was further supported by Senator Garn and by U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh. He was initially sworn in under an interim appointment on March 7th, 1989. He received a presidential nomination from President George H.W. Bush and confirmation by the U.S. Senate before being officially sworn in on August 8th, 1989. The Senate confirmation was considered uneventful and non-contentious. Judge Benson held this post until 1991.

Other notable professional endeavors include:

• Adjunct Law School Professorships at both Brigham Young University and the University of Utah where he currently teaches a course on Evidence (see publications).

Judicial Career

In May of 1991, Judge Benson was nominated for a federal judgeship to the United States District Court by George H.W. Bush. This seat was new for Utah, created by Congress in 1990, along with 84 others throughout the country. Judge Benson went on to be confirmed by the Senate and began serving on September 16, 1991. He held the position of Chief Judge of the District Court from 1999 to 2007.

Through his appointment in 2004 to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in Washington, D.C., Judge Benson travels to the Nation’s Capital every 10 weeks to participate in court sessions. The primary function of this court is to review warrant applications relating to National Security Investigations. This court, known as FISA because it derives its’ name from the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act, has been the subject of considerable controversy. He will serve in this capacity until 2011 when his seven year term will expire.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate (2010), Mike Lee of Utah served as a law clerk to Judge Benson in 1997 (Mike Lee for U.S. Senate 2010).

Publication

Judge Benson is the co-author of a textbook on evidence, described by online retailer West Thompson as: “This treatise examines each article of the Utah Rules of Evidence in a practitioner-friendly format. The current language and relevant legislative history for each article is presented, followed by checklists and an analytical overview of the Utah case law and United States Supreme Court cases interpreting each evidentiary rule. Differences that may exist between the state and federal rules of evidence are also outlined.”

Selected Cases/Rulings

Impact Energy Resources, LLC, et al vs. Ken Salazar, et al: Case No. 2:09-cv-435 and 2:09-cv-440. This lawsuit was filed by three energy companies along with the Utah counties of Carbon, Uintah and Duchene against Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and related federal authorities. The case involved 77 gas and oil drilling leases that were cancelled by Secretary Salazar in February of 2009. The plaintiffs sought to overturn the action by Secretary Salazar. Judge Benson ruled in favor of Salazar because the lawsuit was not filed within the statute of limitations mandating the filing of any challenge within 90 days of the Secretary’s decision. He did, however, acknowledge that, “In this case, the secretary exceeded his statutory authority by withdrawing leases after determining which parcels were to be leased and after holding a competitive lease sale.” Also in his ruling Judge Benson stated, “The plain language of the Mineral Leasing Act mandates the Secretary of Interior to accept bids and issues leases as part of the competitive leasing process for oil and gas leases. Ultimately though, the plaintiff’s claims are time barred.”

The United States of America vs. Tim DeChristopher: Case No. 2:09-CR-183. Tim DeChristopher was indicted in U.S. Federal District Court for bogusly bidding on Federal Land. He claimed that he did so as an act of civil disobedience. This case is still pending as of October 13, 2010. The prosecutor and case have been the subject of numerous media accounts.

The Salt Lake Tribune, et al vs. Elain Chao, The U.S. Secretary of Labor, et al: Case No. 2:07-cv-739. This suit was commenced by several Utah media organizations seeing access to documents relating to the Crandall Canyon mine collapse that killed six miners and three rescue workers in Utah. In dismissing the complaint, Judge Benson noted that, "It is not this court's or any other court's role to make law, only to interpret it." Plaintiffs contended that public access to the investigation would help insure accuracy. Judge Benson stated in his ruling, "The court finds many of these policy arguments persuasive," Benson wrote, but said it was not his place to make such decisions. "While it may be true that requiring all government investigations to be open would result in greater accountability and more accurate information, if such a requirement is to be imposed, it must come from a statute that is debated and passed by Congress and signed into law by the president.”

Summum vs. Duchesne City, et al: Case No. 2:03-cv-1049. Summum is a religious group that sued the City of Pleasant Grove, Utah for the right to install a monolith containing their core beliefs next to an existing monolith of the Ten Commandments. The group contended that their First Amendment Rights were violated by the existence of the Ten Commandments monument. Judge Benson ruled against the group, holding their right to free speech had not been violated. The case was then appealed and heard by the Tenth Circuit Court who overturned Judge Benson’s previous decision. Rather than allow Summum to place their monolith, the City of Pleasant Grove removed the Ten Commandments monolith. The case was then accepted and heard by The Supreme Court of the United Sates. The Court issued a unanimous ruling (No. 07-665) in favor of the city of Pleasant Grove No. 07–665 on February 25, 2009. The court found that monuments that were privately funded were considered government speech and therefore not in violation of any one group’s First Amendment rights. In his opinion, Justice Samuel Alito analogized that, if the law accorded with Summum and its "civil liberties" supporters, New York City would have been required to accept a Statue of Autocracy from the German Empire or Imperial Russia when it accepted the Statue of Liberty from France.

Caldera vs. Microsoft: Case No. 2:96-cv-645 B. This case mirrored the much larger anti-trust case against Microsoft in Washington D.C. Utah based Caldera Corporation brought the anti-trust suit against Microsoft for the anti-competitive practice of encoding Microsoft Windows 95 to only run properly if MS-DOS, a Microsoft product, was being used. Caldera’s claim was that this practice unfairly inhibited the competition by eliminating DR-DOS as an alternative. Justice Benson denied 4 Motions for Summary Judgment by Microsoft to have the case dismissed. The case was eventually settled by the parties.

Personal Life

Judge Benson is the father to 3 daughters and 1 son.

As an avid road biker, Judge Benson competed in the LOTOJA bike race in 2008.

He served a two-year mission in Sweden for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

External Links

BYU Law Review

Crandall Canyon Mine - Deseret News

Mineral Leasing Act