District
35 reviews
Judge Bennett sent my guilty Sheriff back to college and required him to take a course on the Constitution and to get a passing grade. This for violating my 1st and 2nd Amd. rights. My 30+ friends in the courtroom broker into applause.
A complete buffoon. Insecure about everything, has to use his position to show everyone how great he is. Abusive and one of the worst.
I've been reading his articles on Summery Judgment. He REALLY gets it. Summary Judgement is way out of control. This comes from an EXPERIENCED trial lawyer (over 100 jury trials). I've lost my share of jury trials but never believed a JURY was not at least fair; but SJ IS oppression!
This guy is an egotistical clown. He purports to lecture others on the right way to perform the judicial function when all he is really about is self-aggrandizement. Lucky, I suppose, he is relegated to a nondescript geographical location where he can't do more harm.
Judge Bennett is an extremely smart man. He is definitely pro defense and anti government. As a defense attorney it is a pleasure trying a case in front of him because if I forget to ask a question to a witness, then he will. I find I have to be prepared when I try a case in front of him, however it is clear to a jury that he is pro defense which hinders my ability to defend my client. I really wish he would do what judges are supposed to do-be fair and impartial-his treatment of cops and govt witnesses is shameful. It steers a jury against my client every time. It seems Midwest jury's trust the govt.
I am writing this before I get a decision on a pending motion so I know I am not swayed by however it is decided, but from argument alone, I wish all judges were like this. Prepared. Funny. Smart. Human. Wow.
Hardworking and an amazingly quick study on complex issues. Expects lawyers to be prepared.
The whole point here is that no one posts on this website because he is a fair judge. Anyone feeling that they did not get a fair hearing would post rants on this cite. You do not see that here. You may not always agree on result, but he is a bright, industrious judge who is capable of analyzing precedent and does not show a bias towards either side. That is what judging is all about. The 7904 post simply reflects frustration that Judge Bennett does not act as if he is working for their office unlike some other unnamed judge...
My colleague in the last post obviously has a axe to grind. Last time I checked there could be a huge difference in section (d) versus section (D) of a state law. As for giving this judge low marks for competence, scholarship, and punctuality - that is nonsense. Anybody who practices in federal court knows that both district court judges (Reade & Bennett) rate very high in these factors. You can disagree all you want with their rulings but to give low scores on these criteria gives you zero credibility. It never dawned on me that proving a statutory crime was a technicality. As for sentencing in general, this judge has always successfully predicted the Supreme Court's rulings in Booker, Rita, Kimbrough, Gall and Spears, while the U.S. Attorney's Office has been dead wrong in all of these and in every case applying their principles. Doesn't the fact that the U.S. Attorney's Office routinely ignores the Supreme Court law make them the true activists requiring a very conservative Supreme Court - the most conservative in modern history - to reign their lawlessness in?
Another case of this judge being an activist and using a technicality to thwart the government at sentencing. The 8th Circuit had to remand U.S. vs Michael Ingram No. 08-2563 because the judge in his infinite wisdom refused to enhance to a sentence of 20 years minimum, because the government failed to show a prior Illinois state conviction - that was based on the government presenting a certified court conviction of 720-570/401(D) -- a felony. But the statute is (d). Yes, this judge refused to give the mandatory minimum based on a (D) versus a (d).
This judge does the right thing by tempering justice with mercy. No surprise he was the district court judge the Circuit reversed twice on his 100-1 crack/powder ratio varaince down to 20-1 that the Supreme Court just did with their smackdown of the Circuit in US v. Spears. The Court gave the 8th Circuit a judicial spanking and totally vindicated Judge Bennett's longstanding but often reversed sentencing positions. This is a judge with the courage and conviction to consistently do the right thing in the face of long odds.
I am an out-of-state lawyer from the 7th Circuit. Appearing befre this judge for a sentencing reflected everything a federal court should be. This judge is razor sharp. He was very, very well prepared and peppered both sides with thoughtful and probing questions. He gave this case his full and undivided attention and crafted a fair sentence tempered by mercy for a very deserving client.
To anyone familiar with Judge Bennett, the one person responsible for authoring the majority of these posts is clear.
I appeared recently before Judge Bennett in a contested sentencing hearing. He had reviewed every facet of the case and was well prepared on all of the issues and he expected the attorneys to be equally prepared. I consider him one of the best judges I have ever appeared before. He is very engaging and challenging so... Scouts' Motto: Be Prepared.
Simply the finest, most diligent, hardworking, smartest and fairest judge anywhere. If most lawyers appearing before him worked half as hard as he does and were one half as well-prepared justice would be even better served. I think many attorneys get lazy before him becaise they know he is so incredibly well-prepared and does their work for them by carefully analyzing the 3553(a) factors even if the lawyers have been too lazy to file a basic brief.
The last comment by an AUSA just goes to show that in the Northern District of Iowa the prosecutors are not honest. Judge Bennett in that sentencing at the end asked the Circuit to assign it to another judge if they didn't like what he did because he wasn't going to give a higher sentence. What about all the defendants who are serving longer sentences than authorized by the Supreme Court in the Gall decision? Why aren't the AUSAs concerned about all those folks that get a raw deal due to the government's misapplication of the 3553(e) factors and the Circuit's totally erroneous interpretation? I say Judge Bennett has for years been saying what the Supreme Court said in Gall. At least the AUSAs should get their basic facts right and stop lying about what happened in Pepper - even the Circuit says in Pepper that Bennett asked to be taken off the case. Saying the Circuit "demanded" it is as dishonest as can be. By the way, giving Bennett low marks for scholarship is a joke...ever read a brief filed by the AUSAs?
8th Circuit had to demand the reassignment case of US vs Pepper (06-2453). Long battle with 8th Circuit on appropriate sentencing. Judge Bennett's downward departure has not been justified time after time.
Exceptionally fair.
Simply the very best.
A very smart and hardworking judge. His long-time sentencing views, after years of struggles with the 8th Circuit have now been clearly vindicated by the United States Supreme Court. I have great admiration for his compelling sense of justice and unfailing compassion and for his continued fortitude in giving defendants fair sentences. He does not cave in to pressure from the Justice Department.