DeAndrea Gist Benjamin

DeAndrea Gist Benjamin (née DeAndrea Donale Gist; born October 4, 1972) is an American lawyer serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She previously served as a judge of the South Carolina Circuit Court for the Fifth Judicial Circuit.

Early life and education Benjamin was born in 1972 in Columbia, South Carolina, to Donald Gist and Adrienne Gist. She graduated from Columbia High School in 1990. Benjamin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Winthrop University in 1994 and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1997.

Career In 1997 and 1998, Benjamin served as a law clerk for Judge L. Casey Manning of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the South Carolina Circuit Court. In 1998 and 1999, she was an assistant solicitor in the Juvenile and Family Court Division of the Fifth Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office. From 1999 to 2001, she served as an assistant attorney general in the South Carolina Attorney General's Office. Benjamin worked at the Gist Law Firm from 2001 to 2011. In February 2010, Benjamin had an unsuccessful bid for family court (Fifth Judicial Circuit Family Court, Seat 1). She was appointed to serve as a judge of the South Carolina Circuit Court for the Fifth Judicial Circuit in February 2, 2011. In 2021, Benjamin lost a bid for the South Carolina Court of Appeals. The South Carolina General Assembly instead chose then-family court judge Jay Vinson of Florence in a 94–63 vote.

Federal judicial service On August 9, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Benjamin to serve as a United States circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. On September 6, 2022, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Benjamin to the seat vacated by Judge Henry F. Floyd, who assumed senior status on December 31, 2021. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn recommended Benjamin for the vacancy. During her confirmation hearing, Republican senators questioned her decisions granting bond and early release of defendants. On December 8, 2022, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 13–9 vote. On January 3, 2023, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate; she was renominated later the same day. On February 2, 2023, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 12–8 vote. On February 2, 2023, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on her nomination. On February 7, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 54–43 vote. On February 9, 2023, her nomination was confirmed by a 53–44 vote. She received her judicial commission on February 21, 2023. She became the second African American woman to serve on the Fourth Circuit, and the first African American person from South Carolina to serve on the Fourth Circuit.

Personal life Benjamin married Stephen K. Benjamin in 2002.