Megan Blair Benton

How Judge Benton rules, drawn from 2 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Court
United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
Appointed by
Donald Trump (Republican)
Commissioned
2026-02-10
ABA rating
Qualified
Education
B.A., Emory University, 2007; M.A., Emory University; J.D., Vanderbilt University Law School, 2010
Signed orders read
2

How Judge Benton decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Cautions

After de novo review, denies a criminal defendant's motion to suppress evidence and overrules the objections, adopting the magistrate's report and recommendation.

“It is further ORDERED that Defendant's motion to suppress evidence (Doc. 18) is DENIED for the reasons set forth in the Report and Recommendation.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

United States v. Gary Mitchell, Jr.
6:25-cr-03045-MBB · 2026-04-03
Motion to suppress (defendant) Denied

“It is further ORDERED that Defendant's motion to suppress evidence (Doc. 18) is DENIED for the reasons set forth in the Report and Recommendation.”

United States v. David William Platek
6:25-cr-03076-MBB · 2026-04-03
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Denied

“It is further ORDERED that Defendant’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 65) is DENIED for the reasons set forth in the Report and Recommendation.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 22 days (N = 15).

Median motion-to-ruling time: 18 days (N = 24).

Because Benton joined the court in February 2026, most of her cases remain pending. The sampled docket is dominated by alien-detainee habeas petitions, with a growing mix of civil-rights, contract, diversity, prisoner, and criminal matters.

Draft for Judge Benton with the record in hand

Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Benton, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.

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