Robert L. Vogel (December 6, 1918 – January 28, 2005) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

from

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

. He served as

U.S. 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 North Dakota and an associate justice of the

North Dakota Supreme Court The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the state of North Dakota. The Court rules on questions of law in appeals from the state's district courts. Each of the five justices are elected on a no-party ballot for ten year te ...

. Robert was one of five sons of Frank A. Vogel and Louella Vogel. His father, who served as the

North Dakota Tax Commissioner The Office of State Tax Commissioner is a North Dakota state government agency responsible for licensing: *alcoholic beverage wholesalers, farm wineries, microbrew pubs, and out-of-state direct shippers, and *all suppliers selling or shipping alco ...

, Highway Commissioner and manager of the Bank of North Dakota, was also a leader of the

Nonpartisan League The Nonpartisan League (NPL) was a left-wing political party founded in 1915 in North Dakota by Arthur C. Townley, a former organizer for the Socialist Party of America. On behalf of small farmers and merchants, the Nonpartisan League advocate ...

and a close confidant of Gov.

William Langer William "Wild Bill" Langer (September 30, 1886November 8, 1959) was a prominent American lawyer and politician from North Dakota, where he was an infamous character, bouncing back from a scandal that forced him out of the governor's office and ...

. Vogel graduated from Bismarck High School in 1935. He earned his undergraduate degree from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

in 1939 and his law degree from William Mitchell College of Law (then the Minneapolis-Minnesota College of Law) in 1942. He was admitted to both the Minnesota and North Dakota Bars. He married Elsa Mork in 1942. He was in private practice in Garrison, North Dakota from 1943 to 1948, at which time he was elected McLean County States Attorney. In 1954, President

Dwight 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, ...

appointed him

for the District of North Dakota, a position he held until 1961. Afterward, Vogel became a partner in the eponymous firm of Vogel, Bair, and Brown, located in Mandan, North Dakota. He made an unsuccessful run for Congress the next year as a member of the Democratic/Nonpartisan League. In 1973, Governor

Arthur A. Link Arthur Albert Link (May 24, 1914 – June 1, 2010) was an American politician of the North Dakota Democratic Party, and later the Democratic-NPL. He served as a U.S. Representative from 1971 to 1973 and as the 27th Governor of North ...

appointed Vogel to the

, and he won a ten-year term in the following year's general election. Despite his win, Vogel resigned from the supreme court four years later to become a professor at the

University of North Dakota School of Law The University of North Dakota School of Law is located in Grand Forks, North Dakota at the University of North Dakota (UND) and is the only law school in North Dakota. It was established in 1899. The law school is home to approximately 240 studen ...

. He simultaneously opened the Vogel Law Firm in

Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

. Vogel retired in 1997, and died eight years later on January 28, 2005, in Rochester, Minnesota. With his wife of 62 years, Elsa Vogel, he had four children, Mary Vogel Carrick;

Sarah Vogel Sarah Vogel is a North Dakota farm advocate, author, former politician, and lawyer who served as the North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture from 1989 to 1997. As a lawyer, she specialized in agricultural law. Early life and education Sarah was ...

, also an attorney who practices at the Sarah Vogel Law Office, P.C. in Bismarck and formerly North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture; Frank E. Vogel, Professor of Islamic Law,

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

; and Robert "Bobby" Vogel of Grand Forks, a lecturer and civil rights advocate for the disabled community.

External links

Robert Vogel biography

North Dakota Supreme Court official website
1918 births 2005 deaths Justices of the North Dakota Supreme Court William Mitchell College of Law alumni People from Mandan, North Dakota 20th-century American judges United States Attorneys for the District of North Dakota {{NorthDakota-state-judge-stub