Dee Vance Benson | |
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Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah | |
Assumed office January 1, 2014 |
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Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah | |
In office 1999–2006 |
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Preceded by | David Sam |
Succeeded by | Tena Campbell |
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah | |
In office September 16, 1991 – January 1, 2014 |
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Appointed by | George H. W. Bush |
Preceded by | New seat authorized by 104 Stat. 5089 |
Succeeded by | Jill Parrish |
Personal details | |
Born |
Sandy, Utah |
August 25, 1948
Alma mater |
Brigham Young University B.A. J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University J.D. |
Profession | Attorney |
Dee Vance Benson (born August 25, 1948) is a Senior United States District Judge and former Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Utah. He was briefly a professional soccer player. He was nominated as judge by President George H. W. Bush on May 16, 1991, and confirmed by the United States Senate on September 12, 1991. In May 2004, Chief Justice William Rehnquist appointed Judge Benson to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for a seven-year term.
Benson was born in Sandy, Utah and graduated from Jordan High School. In 1973, he received a B.A. from Brigham Young University, and a J.D. as a member of the charter class of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University in 1976. That year he also played professional soccer with the Utah Golden Spikers of the American Soccer League. He later stated that it made him “realize that I didn’t have a future in professional soccer.”
From 1976 to 1984, Benson practiced law in private practice. He was a Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution from 1984 to 1986. He was a Chief of staff, U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch from 1986 to 1988. He was a Counsel, Iran-Contra Congressional Investigating Committee in 1987. He was an Associate deputy U.S. attorney general from 1988 to 1989. He was a U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah from 1989 to 1991.