{{Short description|American judge}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Benjamin Franklin Bledsoe | honorific_suffix = | image = Benjamin Franklin Bledsoe, c1931.jpg | alt = | caption = Bledsoe, {{circa|1931}} | office = Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California | term_start = October 16, 1914 | term_end = March 24, 1925 | nominator = | appointer = Woodrow Wilson | predecessor = ''Seat established by 38 Stat. 580'' | successor = Edward J. Henning | pronunciation = | birth_name = Benjamin Franklin Bledsoe | birth_date = {{Birth date|1874|02|08}} | birth_place = San Bernardino, California | death_date = {{Death date and age|1938|10|30|1874|02|08}} | death_place = Crestline, California | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = | other_party = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor, Jesse Bledsoe, Rindge family | education = Stanford University (A.B.)<br>read law | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = <!--Embedded templates / Footnotes--> | footnotes = }} '''Benjamin Franklin Bledsoe''' (February 8, 1874 – October 30, 1938) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.

==Education and career== thumb|left|upright|Bledsoe in 1909. Born in San Bernardino, California, Bledsoe received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Stanford University in 1896, and read law 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 from 1900 to 1914.<ref name="auto">{{FJC Bio|194|nid=1377936|name=Benjamin Franklin Bledsoe<!--(1874–1938)-->}}</ref>

==Federal judicial service==

On September 30, 1914, Bledsoe was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of California created by 38 Stat. 580. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 16, 1914, and received his commission the same day. He resigned on March 24, 1925.<ref name="auto"/>

===Notable case===

Bledsoe heard the case of Robert Goldstein who produced ''The Spirit of '76'', a patriotic film about the American Revolution. Released just as World War I 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ladailymirror.com/2013/09/30/mary-mallory-hollywood-heights-spirit-of-76-as-propaganda/|title=Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — 'Spirit of '76' as Propaganda|date=September 30, 2013}}</ref>

==Later career and death==

Bledsoe resigned from the federal bench to run for Mayor of Los Angeles, 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.<ref name="auto"/> Bledsoe was a life member of the Society of Colonial Wars, admitted to membership December 6, 1919. Membership No. 6010, California Society No. 194. <ref>General Society of Colonial Wars Index of Ancestors and Members (2011), Register of the California Society of Colonial Wars (2008) pg. 99.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Sources== * {{FJC Bio|194|nid=1377936|name=Benjamin Franklin Bledsoe<!--(1874–1938)-->}}

{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Seat established by 38 Stat. 580}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California}}|years=1914–1925}} {{s-aft|after=Edward J. Henning}} {{s-end}}

{{authority control}}

California of the South Vol. II, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 493-495, Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bledsoe, Benjamin Franklin}} Category:1874 births Category:1938 deaths Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California Category:United States district court judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson Category:Stanford University alumni Category:People from San Bernardino, California Category:United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law