Utah's youngest serving federal judge has announced he will be stepping down from the bench and returning to teaching law at the University of Utah.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell submitted his letter of resignation to President George W. Bush, informing the president his last day on the bench is expected to be Nov. 5.

Cassell has indicated he intends to return to the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah.

"I am both honored and thrilled that Judge Cassell has decided to accept an offer to return to teach and conduct research at the U," said law school Dean Hiram Chodosh. "He will contribute invaluably to our exciting and exemplary Utah Criminal Justice Center and joins the most outstanding criminal justice team in the country."

In his letter to President Bush, Cassell praised his fellow federal judges in Utah and cited two reasons for stepping down. First is a chance to teach again, which will give him time to pursue research in his area of crime victim's rights. The second is to accept an offer to work with the National Crime Victims Law Institute to litigate crime victims' cases across the country.

"While I regret leaving the bench, I am truly excited to return to the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah to pursue teaching, scholarship and public advocacy on important criminal justice issues," Cassell said in a statement issued by the University of Utah.

Cassell was appointed to the U.S. District Court in the District of Utah by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate in May of 2002. He graduated from Stanford Law School in 1984 and started as a law clerk for then U.S. Appeals Court Judge Antonin Scalia and later for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Warren E. Burger. In 1986 Cassell was appointed Associate Deputy Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1988 he was named Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Cassell was first named professor of law at the University of Utah in 1991. While teaching at the S.J. Quinney College of Law he received many honors and awards, including the 1997 Faculty Achievement Award for Teaching Excellence.

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