Fortunato Benavides

Fortunato Pedro Benavides (February 3, 1947 – May 5, 2023) was an American judge. From 1994 until 2023, he served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Education and career Born in Mission, Texas, Benavides received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1968 from the University of Houston. He received a Juris Doctor in 1972 from the University of Houston Law Center. He was in private practice as an attorney in McAllen, Texas from 1972 to 1977, from 1980 to 1981 and from 1993 to 1994. He was a judge of the Hidalgo County, Texas Court-at-Law Number Two, from 1977 to 1979. He was a judge of the Hidalgo County, Texas Ninety Second District Court, from 1981 to 1984. He was a justice of the Thirteenth Court of Appeals of Texas, from 1984 to 1991. He was a judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, from 1991 to 1992. He was a visiting judge of the Supreme Court of Texas in 1993. Federal judicial service Benavides was nominated by President Bill Clinton on January 27, 1994, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated by Judge Thomas Gibbs Gee. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 6, 1994, and received his commission on May 9, 1994. He assumed senior status on February 3, 2012.