Judge Roger T. Benitez, also known as "Saint" Benitez by supporters of the Second Amendment, has retired from federal service as of April 2, 2026. Judge Benitez was born in December, 1950, in Havana, Cuba. He fled the Castro regime in Cuba in 1960 with his brother, speaking only Spanish at the time. His family was reunited and eventually settled in the Imperial Valley of California.
Judge Benitez graduated from the Central Union High School in El Centro, California, then obtained an Associates degree from Imperial Valley Community College in 1971, a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Diego State University in 1974, and a J.D. degree from Western State University College of Law's San Diego campus in 1978. He spent 19 years in private practice in the Imperial Valley. He became a California Superior Court Judge from 1997 to 2001. Judge Benitez was appointed as a federal Magistrate judge in 2001. He was elevated to Federal District Judge in 2004, in spite of opposition from the American Bar Association. Judge Benitez assumed senor status on December 31, 2017
Judge Benitez first became known as "Saint" Benitez after his decision in Duncan v. Becerra, later to be renamed Duncan v. Bonta.
Judge Benitez was assigned the case before he assumed senior status. The case took nearly two years to adjudicate. In the case, Judge Benitez granted a motion of summary judgement against the State of California. The summary judgement was in effect from March 29 to April 5, 2019. It became known as "freedom week". Estimates suggest hundreds of thousands of magazines were legally purchased and shipped into California during that week. Seven years later, the case is still under review. It has been appealed to the Ninth Circuit. The three judge panel affirmed Judge Benitez decision on August 14, 2020. Then the Ninth Circuit decided to hear the case en banc. The en banc panel reversed the decision of the three judge panel on June 22, 2021. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court. On June 30, 2022, the Supreme Court vacated the Ninth Circuit en banc decision and remanded the case back to the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit remanded the case back to the District Court and Judge Benitez. Judge Benitez issued the decision on September 22, 2023. Judge "Saint" Benitez again found the law to be unconstitutional in a well written and argued decision. The state appealed this decision to the Ninth Circuit the same day.
The Ninth Ciruit, in an unprecedented move, voted to skip an appeal to a three judge panel, and to hear the case again, en banc. The en banc panel issued its opinion on March 30, 2025, again reversing Judge Benitez decision, with strong dissents. The case had become Duncan v. Bonta because of a change in the California Attorney General. The case is in the process of being appealed to the Supreme Court again. As of the time of Judge Benitez' retirement on April 2, 2026, the Supreme Court had not yet decided whether to hear the case for a second time.
In addition to Duncan v. Becerra, later Duncan v. Bonta, Judge Benitez issued a decision that the California ban on the AR-15 and similar
firearms violated the Second Amendment, in 2021. The Ninth Circuit put that decision on hold waiting the final decision on Duncan v. Bonta. Judge Benitez decided a law requiring background checks to purchase ammunition was unconstitutional in 2024. In 2025, a three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit upheld Judge Benitez decision on the ammunition law. The panel's decision was appealed to an en banc review, and is now being considered by the Ninth Circuit, en banc. In a case about the Second Amendment on short clubs "billies", Judge Benitez originally found for the State of California. The Supreme Court sent the case back to Judge Benitez after the ruling of the Supreme Court in Bruen. Judge Benitez, following the Bruen decision, found the California law to be unconstitutional. California has appealed the case, which is now pending, awaiting the final decision in Duncan v. Bonta.
Judge "Saint" Benitez has now retired from the court. He is 75 years old. He leaves a rich legacy of cases and decisions which are superbly argued and written. Coming from a family which suffered significant persecution by unlimited government in Cuba, he held limitations on government power in the United States to be clear and legitimate. His story is one of the American dream, from fleeing communism to his assent to high office, against the odds. His presence on the court will be missed.
©2026 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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