Robert Van Pelt (September 9, 1897 – April 27, 1988) was a

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

attorney and served as a

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of the

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Early life and career

Born in Gosper County,

, and raised in Stockville, Van Pelt was early exposed to lawyers and judges through the boarding house his mother operated in the county seat of Frontier County. Only having ten grades in Stockville, Van Pelt proceeded to the Franklin Academy in

Franklin, Nebraska Franklin is a city in Franklin County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,000 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County. History Franklin was founded in the 1870s. It was named for Benjamin Franklin. Former Nebras ...

, a school affiliated with the

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. He spent two years away from his own formal education after Franklin Academy. During this time he became a school teacher at a one-room schoolhouse just north of Stockville, Deputy County Treasurer of Frontier County, and, at the suggestion of the county treasurer, began to write hail insurance to fund his post-secondary education. His time at the Franklin Academy afforded him an academic scholarship to another Congregational Church-affiliated school,

Doane College Doane University is a private university in Crete, Nebraska. It has additional campuses in Lincoln and Omaha, as well as online programs. History Doane College was founded on July 11, 1872, by Thomas Doane, chief civil engineer for the Burling ...

Crete, Nebraska Crete is a city in Saline County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,099 at the 2020 census. History The railroad was extended to the area in 1870, bringing settlers. In 1871, two rival towns merged to form a new town, which was name ...

, where he received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1920. In addition to writing hail insurance to fund his studies, he began selling books for James Wick (who would later go on to found

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). He continued to the

University of Nebraska College of Law The University of Nebraska College of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of University of Nebraska system. It was founded in 1888 and became part of University of Nebraska in 1891. According to Nebraska's official 2017 ABA-required d ...

where he was awarded

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 ...

in 1922. He would later serve as an instructor at the University of Nebraska College of Law from 1946 to 1957. While still a student, purchasing forms for a mortgage course, he encountered a former Southwest Nebraska district judge whom he recognized from his boyhood in Stockville, Judge E.B. Perry, and was offered an internship at Stewart, Perry, Stewart in Lincoln.

Legal Practice

Van Pelt began working for the Stewart, Perry, Stewart law firm while still in law school in the spring of 1921. In 1925, the law firm became that of Stewart, Perry, Stewart, and Van Pelt. In September of 1925, E.B. Perry and Van Pelt dissolved stake in the partnership and formed the Perry & Van Pelt law firm that subsequent October. In 1928, Lloyd J. Marti joined the firm and it thus became Perry, Van Pelt & Marti until Van Pelt and Marti left this firm to form the new partnership of Van Pelt, Marti, and O'Gara. Lloyd J. Marti later assumed the position of Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska from 1943 to 1947. and Van Pelt served as Deputy

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the District of Nebraska from 1930 to 1934.

Federal Judicial Service

Van Pelt was nominated by President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

on May 22, 1957, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge John Wayne Delehant. He was confirmed by the

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on June 11, 1957, and received his commission on June 13, 1957. He 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 May 5, 1970, and his service terminated on April 27, 1988, upon his death.

Notable Work

While on the federal bench, Van Pelt was appointed to the committee that drafted the

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by Chief Justice Earl Warren, by Chief Justice Warren Burger to a committee to oversee the Federal Magistrates Act of 1968, to the Committee of Judicial Ethics, and was named

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by the

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for four boundary disputes .

Community Membership

* President of the Lincoln

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#14 in the years 1935-1936 * Member of the Lincoln Board of Education * Member of the

Board of Trustees * Member Board of Directors, Lincoln Chamber of Commerce * Member

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in 1940, 1944, and 1948

References

External links

*
Robert Van Pelt interview
with Professor Richard Shugrue of the Creighton Law School, part of th
Nebraska Oral Histories collection
of the Creighton Digital Repository. {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Pelt, Robert 1897 births 1988 deaths People from Gosper County, Nebraska Nebraska lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska United States district court judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower 20th-century American judges Assistant United States Attorneys People from Frontier County, Nebraska