U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez retired this month after nearly 22 years in a role for which he was known for issuing harsh sentences and frequently striking down California gun laws.

The 75-year-old Cuban immigrant said his retirement means he will spend more time with his children and grandchildren while working part-time as an arbiter and mediator for ADR Services, which provides alternative dispute resolution services in California.

Personal history

The son of wealthy parents, Benitez and his brother were a part of Operation Peter Pan, in which 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban children relocated to the United States following the Cuban revolution. His mother followed later. He grew up in El Centro where he went on to become a private attorney.

In 1997, he was appointed to the Imperial County Superior Court, becoming a federal magistrate judge in 2001.

Even before his appointment as district judge, Benitez was divisive. The American Bar Association gave him the rare label of “not qualified” when President George W. Bush nominated him in 2003, due to his judicial temperament and courtroom demeanor.

Viral shackling incident

His single most controversial moment occurred in 2023, when he ordered a U.S. marshal to handcuff a crying 13-year-old girl during a parole violation hearing. Benitez said it was a teaching moment for a defendant’s daughter, whom he described as “an awfully cute young lady.” He said he meant to scare her away from drugs.

But an eleven-judge Judicial Council in the 9th District issued a rare misconduct finding against him, reprimanding him for engaging “in abusive or harassing behavior” that could have a chilling effect on the public attending court hearings.

The council said his actions exceeded his authority, since the shackled girl was not exhibiting threatening or disorderly behavior, but stopped short of calling them a Fourth Amendment violation.

9th District adversary

The 9th District reversed other Benitez rulings, including a 2010 lawsuit from a Poway teacher. The Poway School District had asked a math teacher to remove several large religious banners from his classroom.  

Benitez ruled this violated the teacher’s First Amendment rights. But the 9th District disagreed, stating the teacher is not exercising his First Amendment rights as an individual, but was in a role as a public employee.

The 9th District reversed or vacated 14% of Benitez’ rulings over a 10-year period, according to an investigation from the San Diego Union-Tribune and Los Angeles Times published in 2021. That is on the high end for any district judge.

‘Saint Benitez’

Although he first took the bench as a district judge in 2004, Benitez’ reputation began to grow around 2017 as San Diego became known as a place to challenge state gun laws when Second Amendment proponents wanted a favorable ruling.

For his efforts, Benitez became revered as a saint in the pro-gun community, to the degree that his haloed likeness could be found on merchandise from gun magazines to prayer candles. He told the Union-Tribune that his wife bought a T-shirt and deck of cards with “Saint Benitez” on them as a joke.

Benitez stayed quiet in public about his reputation, as it drew haters and fans alike.

Legacy

Most recently, Benitez ruled against a California law that banned school districts from establishing forced outing rules about transgender students.

The case brought by Escondido Union School District teachers and local parents eventually made it to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court sided with Benitez, ruling that parents have a constitutional right to be informed if a child changes their gender presentation at school.

That ruling, alongside his Second Amendment cases, will likely be the most far-reaching and lasting part of Benitez’ legacy.