Dee Benson

Dee Vance Benson (August 25, 1948 – November 30, 2020) was an American jurist who served as district judge and chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah.

He was briefly a professional soccer player.

He was born, along with his identical twin brother, Lee Benson, on August 25, 1948 in Sandy, Utah.

After graduating from Jordan High School, Benson served an LDS mission in Sweden.

In 1973, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brigham Young University (BYU) and a Juris Doctor as a member of the charter class of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU in 1976.

That year he also played professional soccer with the Utah Golden Spikers of the American Soccer League.

Benson then attended BYU in Provo, Utah, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973, majoring in Physical Education with a minor in Political Science.

That same year, Benson became a member of the charter class at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU.

While in law school, he served as the editor for the BYU Law Review.

From 1976 to 1984, Benson practiced law in private practice.

Benson went on to receive his Juris Doctor in the spring of 1976.

In addition to his legal studies, Benson played professionally in the American Soccer League which has since been disbanded.

He was a member of Utah's team, The Golden Spikers for the 1976 year.

He later stated that it made him "realize that I didn't have a future in professional soccer."

With soccer as a passion and an affinity for teaching, Benson started and coached the first soccer team at Hillcrest High School in Midvale, Utah.

Upon graduation from BYU, Benson accepted a position with a Salt Lake City firm then known as Martineau & Maak where he stayed less than one year.

He was a Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution from 1984 to 1986.

He was then offered and accepted a position as a litigator with the firm Snow Christensen & Martineau, where he remained until 1984.

During his eight-year tenure at Snow Christensen, Benson took a two-year leave of absence to accept a position with the construction company Ralph M. Parsons Company based in Pasadena, California.

With Ralph M. Parsons, he lived in a developing Saudi Arabian city known today as Yanbu.

His duties as legal counsel for Parsons included reviewing contracts as well as handling lawsuits that arose with general contractors and employees.

From 1984 through 1989, Benson served in various U.S. government posts in Washington, D.C., including:

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.

Benson was a federal judge to the United States District Court for the District of Utah.

In 1989, Benson was appointed United States Attorney for the District of Utah.

He was recommended to the post by his former boss, Senator Orrin Hatch after the then-United States Attorney Brent Ward stepped down.

Benson's recommendation was further supported by Senator Jake Garn and by United States Attorney General Richard Thornburgh.

He was sworn in under an interim appointment on March 7, 1989.

He received a presidential nomination from President George H. W. Bush and confirmation by the United States Senate before being sworn in on August 8, 1989.

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, receiving his commission on September 16, 1991.

He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush on May 16, 1991, to a new seat created by 104 Stat.

5089. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 12, 1991, and received his commission on September 16, 1991.

He served as chief judge of the district from 1999 until 2006.

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.

He took senior status on January 1, 2014 and died of brain cancer in 2020, at his home, in Sandy, Utah.

Judge Benson is of Swedish ancestry.