Benjamin Franklin Bledsoe (February 8, 1874 – October 30, 1938) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of California The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in case citations, S.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appe ...

Education and career

Born in

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, Bledsoe received an

Artium Baccalaureus Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1896, and

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

to enter the bar. He was in private practice in San Bernardino from 1896 to 1910. He was a Judge of the

California Superior Court Superior courts in California are the state trial courts with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governmental agency. As mandated by t ...

from 1900 to 1914.

Federal judicial service

On September 30, 1914, Bledsoe was nominated by President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

to a new seat on the

created by 38 Stat. 580. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on October 16, 1914, and received his commission the same day. He resigned on March 24, 1925.

Notable case

Bledsoe heard the case of Robert Goldstein who produced '' The Spirit of '76'', a patriotic film about the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. Released just as

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

was starting federal censors required depictions of British atrocities to be cut. Goldstein was tried after an uncut version was shown. Bledsoe sentenced him to 10 years in prison and the media and public opinion turned harshly against him despite initially favorable reviews. Goldstein's sentence was commuted after three years but he was never able to clear his name.

Later career and death

Bledsoe resigned from the federal bench to run for Mayor of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California, but was unsuccessful in that bid. He returned to private practice in Los Angeles from 1925 until his death on October 30, 1938, in Crestline, California. Bledsoe was a life member of the Society of Colonial Wars, admitted to membership December 6, 1919. Membership No. 6010, California Society No. 194. General Society of Colonial Wars Index of Ancestors and Members (2011), Register of the California Society of Colonial Wars (2008) pg. 99.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bledsoe, Benjamin Franklin 1874 births 1938 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California United States district court judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson 20th-century American judges Stanford University alumni People from San Bernardino, California United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law California of the South Vol. II, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 493-495, Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.