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 Associate’s 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 despite opposition from the American Bar Association. Judge Benitez assumed senior status on December 31, 2017
Judge Benitez first became known as “Saint” Benitez after his decision in Duncan v. Becerra, later renamed Duncan v. Bonta.
Judge Benitez was assigned the case before he assumed senior status. The case took nearly two years to adjudicate. In this case, Judge Benitez granted a motion for summary judgment against the State of California. The summary judgment 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’s 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 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 Circuit, in an unprecedented move, voted to bypass a three-judge panel and rehear the case en banc. The en banc panel issued its opinion in March 2025, again reversing Judge Benitez’s decision, with strong dissents. The case became Duncan v. Bonta due to a change in the California Attorney General. The case is again being appealed to the Supreme Court. As of the time of Judge Benitez’s retirement on April 2, 2026, the Supreme Court had not yet decided whether to hear the case for a second time.
Now I’m going to be even more angry if SCOTUS fails us in Duncan.
Judge Benitez deserves vindication! https://t.co/Lgb80l7Wkl pic.twitter.com/mRtUbk65Ay
— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) April 7, 2026
In addition to 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 pending the final decision in 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’s decision on the ammunition law. The panel’s decision was appealed to the en banc Ninth Circuit, which is now considering it.
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 its Bruen ruling. 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 that are superbly argued and written.
Coming from a family that suffered significant persecution by the 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 ascent to high office, against the odds. His presence on the court will be missed.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
