Mark Bennett | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | |
| Assumed office July 13, 2018 | |
| Appointed by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Richard Clifton |
| 12thAttorney General of Hawaii | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – December 6, 2010 | |
| Governor | Linda Lingle |
| Preceded by | Earl I. Anzai |
| Succeeded by | David M. Louie |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mark Jeremy Bennett (1953-02-24)February 24, 1953 (age 72) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican[1] |
| Education | Union College, New York (BA) Cornell University (JD) |
Mark Jeremy Bennett (born February 24, 1953) is aUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
In 1976, Bennett obtained hisBachelor of Arts degree inpolitical science fromUnion College inSchenectady. He attendedCornell Law School inIthaca where he sat on the Board of Editors of theCornell Law Review. There, he received hisJuris Doctor in 1979. After leaving law school, Bennett became a law clerk to Chief JudgeSamuel Pailthorpe King of theUnited States District Court for the District of Hawaii. Completing his clerkship, Bennett served as anAssistant United States Attorney for theDistrict of Columbia from 1980 to 1982 and for theDistrict of Hawaii until 1990. In 1991, Bennett went into private legal practice as a partner at the firm of McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon LLP. At the same time, he worked pro-bono for the attorney general's office and taught at theWilliam S. Richardson School of Law.[2] He served asAttorney General of Hawaii from 2003 to 2010 in the two-term administration ofRepublicanGovernorLinda Lingle.
Bennett served asActing Governor of Hawaii from August 25 to September 3, 2004, upon the absence of Governor Linda Lingle andlieutenant governorDuke Aiona.[3] The executives left the Hawaiian Islands to attend the2004 Republican National Convention inNew York City.
On February 12, 2018, PresidentDonald Trump announced his intent to nominate Bennett to an undetermined seat on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On February 15, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. Bennett was nominated for the seat vacated by JudgeRichard Clifton, who assumedsenior status on December 31, 2016. On April 11, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before theSenate Judiciary Committee.[4] On May 10, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 18–2 vote.[5] On July 9, 2018, theUnited States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 72–25 vote.[6] On July 10, 2018, his nomination was confirmed by a 72–27 vote.[7] All 27 votes against his confirmation came from Republican Senators due to his defense of Hawaii's restrictive firearms laws in court.[8] He received his judicial commission on July 13, 2018.[9]
On August 16, 2019, Bennett was in the majority of a split panel for the Ninth Circuit which blocked new asylum restrictions by the Trump administration within its own jurisdiction but declined to block the new asylum rules across the entire nation.[10]
In September 2020, Bennett dissented when the panel majority found that arobocall defendant could not use theFederal Arbitration Act to compel enforcement of a customer agreement the plaintiff had signed years earlier with a separate company that had subsequently been acquired by the holding company that now also owned the defendant.[11][12]
On December 4, 2021, Bennett was one of two judges who declined to halt San Diego Unified School District's requirements that students be vaccinated by December 20.[13][14]
On September 6, 2022, Bennett wrote a concurring opinion in the 9th circuit decision upholding Washington's ban onconversion therapy for minors.[15] The Supreme Court deniedcertiorari on December 11, 2023.[16]
In June 2025, Bennett ruled that President Trump can keep control of the California National Guard in the wake of ICE raids.[17]
Bennett is married to Honolulu attorney Patricia Tomi Ohara.[3] He has been a member of theFederalist Society since 2016.[1]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Attorney General of Hawaii 2003–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 2018–present | Incumbent |
