George Thomas Van Bebber (October 21, 1931 – May 26, 2005) 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 District of Kansas The United States District Court for the District of Kansas (in case citations, D. Kan.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Kansas. The Court operates out of the Robert J. Dole United States Courthouse in Kansas Ci ...

Education and career

Born in

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, Van Bebber received a

Bachelor of Arts 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 the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

in 1953 and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

University of Kansas School of Law The University of Kansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Kansas, a public research university in Lawrence, Kansas. The University of Kansas Law School was founded in 1893, replacing the earlier Department of Law, which had exi ...

in 1955. He then entered private practice in Troy until 1959, when he became an

assistant United States attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

for the District of Kansas until 1961, thereafter returning to private practice until 1982. During that time, he was County attorney for

Doniphan County Doniphan County (county code DP) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the county population was 7,510. Its county seat is Troy, Kansas, Troy, and its most pop ...

, Kansas from 1963 to 1969. Van Bebber served in the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

from 1973 to 1975 and was a Republican.

Federal judicial service

In 1989, Van Bebber became a

United States magistrate judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduct ...

of the

. On September 13, 1989, he was nominated by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

to a seat on that court vacated by

Richard Dean Rogers Richard Dean Rogers (December 29, 1921 – November 25, 2016) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. Education and career Born in Oberlin, Kansas, Rogers received a Bachelor of Scienc ...

. 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 November 21, 1989, and received his commission on December 8, 1989. He served as chief judge from 1995 to 2000, and assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on December 31, 2000. He was succeeded by

Julie A. Robinson Julie Ann Robinson (born January 14, 1957) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. Education and career Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Robinson received a Bachelor of Science from the ...

. He continued to serve in senior status until his death, in Prairie Village, Kansas.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Bebber, George Thomas 1931 births 2005 deaths Assistant United States Attorneys Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives People from Troy, Kansas United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush United States magistrate judges University of Kansas alumni University of Kansas School of Law alumni People from Prairie Village, Kansas 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American judges Kansas lawyers