William Duane Benton

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William Duane Benton (born September 8, 1950 in Springfield, Missouri) is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Benton was nominated to that court by President George W. Bush on February 12, 2004 and confirmed by the United States Senate by a voice vote on June 24, 2004.

Benton graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in 1972, and earned his law degree from Yale Law School, where he graduated in 1975 alongside Justice Samuel Alito. Benton also received an M.B.A. from Memphis State University in 1979 and an L.L.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1994.

Prior to joining the Eighth Circuit, Benton served on the Supreme Court of Missouri from 1991 to 2004, where he held the position of 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 from 1981 to 1982. From 1983 to 1989, Benton practiced law in Jefferson City, Missouri. Benton also served as a captain in the U.S. Navy/Naval Reserve from 1972 to 2002 and taught as an adjuct professor at the University of Missouri School of Law from 1998 to 2004. Benton continues to serve as an adjunct at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.

[edit] External links

• Federal Judicial Center Profile