May/June 2004 issue
In Memoriam: Judge Paul Benson of the District of North Dakota
On April 22, 2004, Judge Paul Benson, former
district court judge for the District of North
Dakota, passed away after a long battle with
Alzheimer’s disease. He was 85 years old.
Paul Benson was born on June 1, 1918, on his
family’s farm near Verona, North Dakota. He
received his undergraduate degree from the
University of North Dakota in 1942, and enlisted
in the U.S. Navy shortly thereafter, where he
served until 1946.
He received his law degree
from the George Washington
University School of Law in
1949. During his law school
years he also worked as an
aide to his uncle, U.S. Senator
Milton Young.
He worked one year as a private attorney in
Cavalier, North Dakota, before joining a Grand
Forks law firm in 1950. He stayed with the firm
until 1971. From 1952 to 1954 he also served as
assistant city attorney for Grand Forks. He left the
firm briefly in 1954 to serve one year as the State
Attorney General of North Dakota. From 1960 to
1965 he also made time to lecture at the
University of North Dakota School of Law.
In 1971 he was appointed as a judge to the U.S.
District Court for the District of North Dakota. He
served as chief judge for the district from 1971
until 1985, when he took senior status. During his
time on the bench he presided over some high
profile cases, including the 1977 trial of Leonard
Peltier for the deaths of two FBI agents and the
1983 trials involving the deaths of two federal
marshals in Medina, North Dakota. Soon after the
Medina cases he began receiving death threats,
and several pipe bombs were sent to him in the
mail. One bomb exploded, injuring postal workers
in Fargo. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Marshals
assigned a security detail to Judge Benson and his
family.
While he was known for keeping to himself,
Judge Benson was also known for his kindness
and objectivity. According to U.S. Magistrate
Karen Klein, the judge felt strongly about
“remaining true to the law rather than bending
his application of the law to fit his own personal
views.”
Judge Benson’s wife, Laurel, passed away a few
years ago. He is survived by his children, Peter,
Santal, Polly, Amy, and Laurel.
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