Hon. Roger T. Benitez
District Judge
Judge Roger Benitez is a District Judge of the US District Court of the Southern District of California, nominated to this position in 2003 by former President George W. Bush and confirmed by the US Senate in 2004. Before this nomination, he served as a US Magistrate Judge for the same court since 2001. Prior to his tenure as a Magistrate Judge, Judge Benitez was appointed by former Governor Pete Wilson to serve on the bench of the Imperial County Superior Court in 1997, where he was the presiding judge of the Appellate Division. He also presided over trials in Nevada and Florida. Judge Benitez was appointed by the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court and currently serves on the Judicial Panel for MultiDistrict Litigation. "Judge Benitez earned his BA from San Diego State University in 1974 and received his J.D. from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 1978. After law school, Judge Benitez practiced in the private sector, including as a named partner at Heim, Benitez, and Driskill, for 19 years before being appointed to the bench. As a District Judge, Judge Benitez has sat on assignments in Arizona, Guam, and Saipan, as well as by designation with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has participated in the Patent Pilot Project Panel and as chair of the IT Committee of the Southern District of California. Judge Benitez was appointed by the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court to serve on the US Judicial Conference Committee on Financial Disclosure. He has also served as an instructor at Imperial Valley College." Judge Benitez served on the Financial Disclosure Committee from 2011 through 2020. He is currently on the Judicial Advisory Board for the Association of Business Trial Lawyers San Diego Chapter, as well as the Advisory Board for the Global Antitrust Institute. Judge Benitez’s memberships include the San Diego Federal bar Association, the Federal Judge Association, the Wallace Inn of Court, and the Imperial County Bar Association. His volunteer experience includes being the Imperial County Private Industry Council; a former member and past chairman of the City of El Centro Planning Commission; overseeing high school mock trial programs; sitting on the board of directors for the California Youth Soccer Association; and being a member and serving on the board of the search & rescue team of the DeAnza Rescue Unit.
