Robert Van Pelt
Robert Van Pelt was a Nebraska attorney and served as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.Education and career
Born in Gosper County, Nebraska, Van Pelt received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Doane College in Crete, Nebraska in 1920 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1922. He was an Assistant United States Attorney of the District of Nebraska from 1930 to 1934, and an instructor at the University of Nebraska College of Law from 1946 to 1957. In 1923, Van Pelt's law firm was that of Stewart, Perry, Stewart, and Van Pelt. In 1930, Van Pelt left this firm and went into practice with Lloyd J. Marti, who eventually became Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska from 1943 to 1947.Federal judicial service
Van Pelt was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on May 22, 1957, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska vacated by Judge John Wayne Delehant. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 11, 1957, and received his commission on June 13, 1957. He assumed senior status on May 5, 1970. His service terminated on April 27, 1988, due to his death.Notable cases
While on the Federal bench, Van Pelt served on the committee that drafted the Federal Rules of Evidence and was named Special Master by the Supreme Court for four boundary disputes.
