William D. Benton
This page is about the U.S. Appellate Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. If you are looking for the Arkansas Circuit Court judge for the Eleventh Circuit West, see William Benton.
2004 - Present
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William Duane Benton is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. He joined the court on July 2, 2004, after being nominated by former President George W. Bush to fill a seat vacated by Theodore McMillian. Prior to his appointment, Benton served on the Missouri Supreme Court from 1991 to 2004.[1]
Benton became a board member of the Federal Judicial Center in 2018.[1]
Early life and education
A native of Springfield, Missouri, Benton graduated from Northwestern University with his bachelor's degree in 1972 and from Yale Law School with his J.D. in 1975. Benton later obtained his M.B.A. from Memphis State University in 1979. Benton earned his LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1994.[1]
Military service
Benton served as a captain in the United States Navy and Naval Reserves from 1972 until 2002.[1]
Professional career
- 1998-2004: Adjunct professor, Missouri School of Law
- 1998-2004: Adjunct professor, Westminster College
- 1991-2004: Justice, Missouri Supreme Court
- 1997-1999: Chief justice
- 1989-1991: Director of revenue, Missouri Department of Revenue
- 1983-1989: Private practice
- 1981-1982: Administrative assistant, Congressman Wendell Bailey (R)
- 1980: Campaign manager, "Wendell Bailey for Congress"[1]
Judicial career
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: William Duane Benton |
| Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 133 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: February 12, 2004
|
| ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
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| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: April 8, 2004
|
| Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: April 29, 2004
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| Confirmed: June 24, 2004
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| Vote: Voice vote
|
Benton was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit by President George W. Bush on February 12, 2004, to a seat vacated by Theodore McMillian. The American Bar Association rated Benton Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination.[2] Hearings on Benton's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on April 8, 2004, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on April 29, 2004. Benton was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on June 24, 2004, and he received his commission on July 2, 2004.[1][3]
Noteworthy cases
SCOTUS upholds Eighth Circuit class action ruling (2016)
On March 22, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of a divided three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit. Judge William D. Benton issued the majority opinion of the panel in the case.
Bouaphakeo was part of a class action lawsuit filed by of former employees of Tyson Foods, Inc. (Tyson) alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Iowa Wage Payment Collection Law "by not paying appropriate compensation for the time spent putting on and taking off protective clothing at the beginning and end of the work day and lunch break." A federal district court certified the class and a jury awarded damages of several million dollars. Tyson appealed to the Eighth Circuit, arguing that the district court erred in certifying the plaintiff class. Tyson claimed that differences among the plaintiffs made certifying all of the plaintiffs under one class incorrect and argued that the class should be decertified. Tyson also claimed that evidence presented during the trial demonstrated that some members of the class were not injured by the company’s actions and, as a result, the employees had no right to damages. Writing for a divided 2-1 circuit panel majority, Judge William D. Benton upheld the lower court's class certification, its judgment, and the multi-million dollar award. Writing for a six-justice U.S. Supreme Court majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy affirmed the circuit court's decision.[4][5][6]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Federal Judicial Center, "William Duane Benton," accessed January 30, 2019 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 108th Congress," accessed July 26, 2016
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 1369 - William Duane Benton — The Judiciary," accessed July 26, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Peg Bouaphakeo et al. v. Tyson Foods Inc., decided August 25, 2014
- ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, Tyson Foods Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, March 22, 2016
- ↑ Oyez.org, "Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo," accessed October 10, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit 2004-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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| 2001 |
Armijo • Bates • Beistline • Blackburn • Bowdre • Bunning • Bury • Caldwell • Camp • Cassell • Cebull • Clement • Clifton • Crane • Eagan • Engelhardt • Friot • Gibbons • Granade • Gregory • Gritzner • Haddon • Hartz • Heaton • Hicks • Howard • Johnson • Jorgenson • Krieger • Land • Leon • Mahan • Martinez • Martone • McConnell • Melloy • Mills • O'Brien • Parker • Payne • Prost • Reeves • Riley • Robinson • Rogers • Royal • Shedd • B. Smith • L. Smith • Walton • Wooten • Zainey | ||
| 2002 |
Africk • Anderson • Autrey • Baylson • Cercone • Chesler • Clark • Collyer • Conner • Conti • Corrigan • Davis • Davis • Dorr • England • Ericksen • Fuller • Gardner • Godbey • Griesbach • Hanen • Hovland • Hudson • Jones • Jordan • Kinkeade • Klausner • Kugler • Leighton • Linares • Moses • Marra • Martinez • Martini • Mays • McVerry • Phillips • Raggi • Reade • Rose • Rufe • Savage • Schwab • Smith • St. Eve • Walter • White • Wolfson | ||
| 2003 |
Adams • Altonaga • Bea • Benitez • Bennett • Boyle • Brack • Breen • Browning • Burns • Bybee • Callahan • Campbell • Cardone • Carney • Castel • Chertoff • Cohn • Colloton • Conrad • Coogler • Cook • Cooke • Crone • Der-Yeghiayan • Drell • Duffey • Duncan • Erickson • Feuerstein • Figa • Filip • Fischer • Fisher • Flanagan • Floyd • Frost • Gibson • Greer • Gruender • Guirola • Hall • Hardiman • Hayes • Herrera • Hicks • Holmes • Holwell • Hopkins • Houston • Irizarry • Jones • Junell • Karas • Kravitz • Martinez • McKnight • Minaldi • Montalvo • Mosman • Otero • Pickering • Prado • Pratter • Proctor • Quarles • Robart • Roberts • Robinson • Rodgers • Rodriguez • Sabraw • Sanchez • Saylor • Selna • Sharpe • Simon • Springmann • Stanceu • Steele • Stengel • Suko • Sutton • Sykes • Titus • Townes • Tymkovich • Van Antwerpen • Varlan • Wake • Wesley • White • Woodcock • Yeakel | ||
| 2004 |
Alvarez • Benton • Boyko • Covington • Diamond • Harwell • Kelley • Schiavelli • Schneider • Starrett • Watson | ||
| 2005 |
Alito • Barrett • Batten • Bianco • Brown • Burgess • Conrad • Cox • Crotty • Delgado-Colon • Dever • DuBose • Griffin • Griffith • Johnston • Kendall • Larson • Ludington • Mattice • McKeague • Neilson • Owen • Pryor • Roberts • Sandoval • Schiltz • Seabright • Smoak • Van Tatenhove • Vitaliano • Watkins • Zouhary | ||
| 2006 |
Besosa • Bumb • Chagares • Cogan • Gelpi • Golden • Gordon • Gorsuch • Guilford • Hillman • Holmes • Ikuta • D. Jordan • K. Jordan • Kavanaugh • Miller • Moore • Shepherd • Sheridan • Smith • Whitney • Wigenton | ||
| 2007 |
Anderson • Aycock • Bailey • Bryant • Davis • DeGiusti • Dow • Elrod • Fairbank • Fischer • Frizzell • Gutierrez • Hall • Hardiman • Haynes • Howard • Jarvey • Jones • Jonker • Kapala • Kays • Laplante • Limbaugh • Lioi • Livingston • Maloney • Mauskopf • Mendez • Miller • Neff • O'Connor • O'Grady • O'Neill • Osteen • Ozerden • Reidinger • Sammartino • Schroeder • Settle • Smith • Snow • Southwick • Suddaby • Sullivan • Thapar • Tinder • Van Bokkelen • Wood • Wright • Wu | ||
| 2008 |
Agee • Anello • Arguello • Brimmer • Gardephe • Goldberg • Jones • Kethledge • Lawrence • Matsumoto • Melgren • Murphy • Scriven • Seibel • Slomsky • Trenga • Waddoups • White | ||
