May/June 2004 issue
Two New Judges for the Eighth Circuit: Gruender and Benton
Judge Raymond Gruender
On May 20, 2004, the Senate
confirmed the nomination of
Raymond W. Gruender to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Eighth Circuit. He will fill the
vacancy created by Judge
Pasco Bowman, who took
senior status in August.
Raymond Gruender was born and grew up in St.
Louis, Missouri. He attended Washington
University, where he obtained his undergraduate
degree in 1984. He continued his studies at
Washington University and received both his
Master’s in Business Administration and his law
degree in 1987.
After completing his graduate degrees, he began
his legal career at the firm of Lewis, Rice, and
Fingersh, where he focused on commercial
litigation. He also served as assistant prosecutor
for the City of Town and Country during this
time.
In 1990 he left the firm to work as an Assistant
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of
Missouri, where his work focused on fraud and
corruption cases. In 1994 he joined the firm of
Thompson Coburn, where he continued to focus
on white collar criminal matters as well as
commercial litigation including employment,
securities and fraud.
In 2000 he returned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office
as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. In 2001 he was
appointed as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern
District of Missouri, where he lead an office of 60
Assistant U.S. Attorneys aggressively prosecuting
corporate fraud, public corruption, illegal
narcotics, and federal firearm offenders.
In addition to his contributions to the legal
community, he has been active in the general
community by serving on the board and as
president of ALIVE (Alternatives to Living in
Violent Environments), a non-profit organization
that provides assistance to battered women. He
serves on the allocation committee of the St.
Louis Variety Club, and has also served as
director of the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis.
Judge Gruender was sworn in privately on June
28th, 2004, and his investiture will take place in
the next few months. Welcome, Judge Gruender!
Judge William Duane Benton
On June 24, 2004, the Senate
confirmed the nomination of
William Duane Benton to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Eighth Circuit. He will fill
the vacancy left by Judge
Theodore McMillian, who
took senior status last July.
Duane Benton was born in Springfield, Missouri,
and grew up in Mountain View, Willow Springs,
and Cape Girardeau. He received his bachelor’s
degree from Northwestern University in Evanston,
Illinois, in 1972. He received his law degree in
1975 from Yale Law School, where he served as
editor of the Yale Law Journal.
From 1975 to 1979 he served as a judge advocate
in the U.S. Navy. During this time he also
attended Memphis State University, where he
earned a Master’s in Business Administration
and Accountancy.
In 1980 he worked as a campaign manager for
Congressman Wendell Bailey. From 1981 to
1982 he worked as the congressman’s assistant.
In 1983 he became a certified public accountant
and began a general law practice in Jefferson
City. In 1989 he became the Director of Revenue
for the State of Missouri, where he wrote the
Missouri Taxpayer Bill of Rights and initiated
the short-form state tax return. He also served on
the Multistate Tax Commission and as president
of the Midwestern State Association of Tax
Administrators.
In 1991 he was appointed as a judge to the
Supreme Court of Missouri, where he served as
chief justice from 1997 to 1999. During this time
he received an LLM from the University of
Virginia School of Law, and he also made time
to serve as an adjunct professor at Westminster
College and University of Missouri School of
Law. In addition to all of this Judge Benton
continued to participate as a captain in the U.S.
Naval Reserve.
Judge Benton was sworn in on July 8, 2004, and
his investiture will take place in the next few
months. Welcome, Judge Benton!
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