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Fortunato Benavides

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit

Tenure

2012 - Present

Years in position

13

Prior offices:

United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit

Years in office: 1994 - 2012

Education

Bachelor's

University of Houston, 1968

Law

University of Houston Law Center, 1972

Personal

Birthplace

Mission, TX

Fortuanto Pedro Benavides is afederal judge onsenior status with theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. He joined the court in 1994 after being nominated by PresidentBill Clinton.^[1]

Early life and education

A native ofMission, Texas, Benavides graduated from the University of Houston with his B.B.A. in 1968 and from the University of Houston Law Center with hisJ.D. in 1972.^[1]

Professional career

• 1993-1994: Private practice, McAllen,Texas
• 1993: Visiting judge,Supreme Court of Texas
• 1991-1992: Judge,Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
• 1984-1991: Judge,Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals
• 1981-1984: Judge,Texas District 92
• 1980-1981: Private practice, McAllen, Texas
• 1977-1979: Judge, Hidalgo County Court-at-Law #2
• 1972-1977: Private practice, McAllen,Texas^[1]

Judicial career

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Fortunato P. Benavides
Court:United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 99 days after nomination.
ANominated: January 27, 1994
AABA Rating:Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: March 25, 1994
QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: May 5, 1994
AConfirmed: May 6, 1994
AVote: Voice vote

Benavides was nominated by PresidentBill Clinton on January 27, 1994, to a seat vacated by JudgeThomas Gee. TheAmerican Bar Association rated BenavidesSubstantial Majority Qualified, Minority Well Qualified for the nomination.^[2] Hearings on Benavides' nomination were held before theUnited States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on March 25, 1994, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen.Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on May 5, 1994. Benavides was confirmed on a voice vote of theUnited States Senate on May 6, 1994, and he received his commission on May 9, 1994. Benavides assumedsenior status on February 3, 2012.^[1][3] He was succeeded in this position by JudgeGregg Costa.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit

External links

• Judge Benavides's biography from theFederal Judicial Center

Footnotes

v • e Federal judges who have served theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Active judges	Chief Judge: Jennifer Elrod  •  Don Willett  •  James Graves  •  Carl Stewart  •  Edith Jones  •  Leslie Southwick  •  Priscilla Richman  •  Catharina Haynes  •  Jerry Edwin Smith (Fifth Circuit)  •  Kurt Engelhardt  •  Irma Ramirez  •  Stephen Higginson  •  Cory Wilson  •  Stuart Kyle Duncan  •  James Ho  •  Andrew Oldham  •  Dana Douglas
Senior judges	James Dennis  •  Carolyn King  •  Patrick Higginbotham  •  John Duhe  •  Edith Clement  •  Fortunato Benavides  •  Jacques Wiener  •  W. Eugene Davis  •  Grady Jolly  •  Rhesa Barksdale  •
Former judges	John Minor Wisdom  •  Edward Harris  •  Peter Fay  •  John Godbold  •  Robert Lanier Anderson  •  Phyllis Kravitch  •  Gerald Tjoflat  •  Joseph Hatchett  •  Albert Henderson  •  Paul Roney  •  David Dyer  •  Elbert Tuttle  •  Thomas Clark (Eleventh Circuit)  •  Richard Rives  •  Robert Vance  •  Lewis Morgan  •  James Hill (Federal judge)  •  Andrew Phelps McCormick  •  Don Albert Pardee  •  Thomas Reavley  •  Harold DeMoss  •  Edward Prado  •  Robert Madden Hill  •  Alvin Rubin  •  Henry Politz  •  Reynaldo Garza  •  Albert Tate, Jr.  •  Jerre Williams  •  Robert Parker  •  Charles Pickering  •  David Davie Shelby  •  Rufus Edward Foster  •  Robert Lynn Batts  •  Nathan Philemon Bryan  •  Edwin Ruthven Holmes  •  Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr.  •  Alexander Campbell King  •  Samuel Hale Sibley  •  Claude Feemster Clayton  •  Richard Wilde Walker  •  Wayne Borah  •  Louie Willard Strum  •  Irving Goldberg  •  Leon McCord  •  Warren Leroy Jones  •  Robert Ainsworth  •  Joe Ingraham  •  William Thornberry  •  George Carswell  •  Curtis Waller  •  Griffin Bell  •  John Robert Brown (Federal judge)  •  Benjamin Cameron  •  James Coleman (federal judge)  •  Thomas Gee  •  Walter Gewin  •  Samuel Johnson  •  Elmo Lee  •  John Bryan Simpson  •  Frank M. Johnson, Jr.  •  Charles Clark (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit)  •  Robert Lee Russell (Federal judge)  •  Gregg Costa  •
Former Chief judges	John Godbold  •  Elbert Tuttle  •  Richard Rives  •  Carl Stewart  •  Carolyn King  •  Priscilla Richman  •  Henry Politz  •  Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr.  •  John Robert Brown (Federal judge)  •  James Coleman (federal judge)  •  Charles Clark (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit)  •

v • e Federal judges nominated byBill Clinton
1993	Adams •Ambrose •Barnes •Brinkema •Bucklew •Chasanow •Coffman •Daughtrey •Ferguson •Ginsburg •Hagen •Jackson •Lancaster •Leval •Lindsay •Messitte •Michael •Piersol •Saris •Schwartz •Seybert •Shanahan •Shaw •Stearns •Trager •Vazquez •Wilken •Wilson
1994	Baer •Barkett •Batts •Beaty •Benavides •Bennett •Berrigan •Biery •Block •Borman •Breyer •Briones •Bryson •Bucklo •Burgess •Burrage •Cabranes •Calabresi •Carr •Casellas •Castillo •Chatigny •Chin •Cindrich •Coar •Collins •Cooper •Cote •Currie •Davis •Dominguez •Downes •Duval •Friedman •Furgeson •Garcia •Gertner •Gettleman •Gillmor •Gilmore •Gleeson •Haggerty •Hamilton •Hannah •Hawkins •Henry •Holmes •Hood •Hull •Hurley •Jack •Jones •Jones •Kaplan •Katz •Kern •Kessler •Koeltl •Lisi •Manning •McKee •McLaughlin •Melancon •Miles-LaGrange •Moore •Motz •Murphy •O'Malley •O'Meara •Oliver •Paez •B. Parker •F. Parker •R. Parker •Perry •Ponsor •Pooler •Porteous •Rendell • Riley •Robertson •Rogers •Ross •Russell •Sands •Sarokin •Scheindlin •Silver •Squatrito •Stewart •Sullivan •Tatel •Thompson •Timlin •Urbina •Vanaskie •Vance •Walls •Wells •Williams
1995	Arterton •Atlas •Black •Blake •Briscoe •Tena Campbell •Todd Campbell •Chesney •Cole •Collier •Daniel •Davis •Dennis •Dlott •Donald •Duffy •Economus •Evans •Fallon •Folsom •Gaughan •Goodwin •Heartfield •Hunt •Illston •Jones •King •Kornmann •Lawson •Lenard •Lucero •Lynch •McKinley •Moody •Moore •Moskowitz •Murphy •Murtha •Nugent •O'Toole •Orlofsky •Pogue •Sessions •C. Smith •O. Smith •Stein •Thornburg •Tunheim •Wallach •Wardlaw •Webber •Whaley •Winmill • Wood
1996	Broadwater •Clevert •Fenner •Gershon •Gottschall •Greenaway •Hinkle •Jones •Kahn •Laughrey •Lemmon •Marten •Miller •Molloy •Montgomery •Pregerson •Rakoff •Sargus •Tashima •Thomas •Zapata
1997	Adelman •Bataillon •Breyer •Caputo •Casey •Chambers •Clay •Damrell •Droney •Friedman •Gajarsa •Garland •Gilman •Gold •Gwin •Hall •Hayden •Hull •Ishii •Jenkins •Kauffman •Kennedy •Kimball •Kollar-Kotelly •Lazzara •Marbley •Marcus •Middlebrooks •Miller •Moon •Pratt •Rendell •Sippel •Siragusa •Snyder •Thrash
1998	Aiken •Barbier •Barzilay •Berman •Buttram •Carter •Collins •Dawson •Dimitrouleas •Fletcher •Fogel •Frank •Graber •Hellerstein •Herndon •James •Johnson •Kane •Kelly •G. King •R. King •Lasnik •Lee •Lemelle •Lindsay •Lipez •Manella •Matz •McCuskey •McKeown •McMahon •Mickle •Mollway •Mordue •Moreno •Morrow •Munley •Murphy •Pallmeyer •Pauley •Polster •Pooler •Rawlinson •Ridgway •R. Roberts •V. Roberts •Sack •Scott •Seitz •Seymour •Shea •Silverman •Sleet •Sotomayor •Steeh •Story •Straub •Tagle •Tarnow •Trauger •Traxler •Tyson •Wardlaw •Whelan •Young
1999	Alsup •Barry •Brown •Buchwald •Cooper •Eaton •Ellison •Feess •Fisher •Gould •Guzman •Haynes •Hibbler •Hochberg •Hurd •Huvelle •Jordan •Katzmann •Kennelly •Linn •Lorenz •Lynn •Marrero •Murguia •Pannell •Pechman •Pepper •Phillips •Schreier •Stewart •Underhill •Ward •Williams •Wilson
2000	Ambro •Antoon •Battani •Berzon •Bolton •Brady •Bye •Cavanaugh •Daniels •Darrah •Dawson •Dyk •Fuentes •Garaufis •Garcia-Gregory •Hamilton •Huck •Hunt •Lawson •Lefkow •Lynch •Martin •McLaughlin •Moody •Murguia •Paez •Pisano •Presnell •Rawlinson •Reagan •Schiller •Singal •Steele •Surrick •Swain •Tallman •Teilborg •Tucker •Whittemore