Name Martin Van Died January 28, 1979 | Education University of Iowa | |
Martin Donald Van Oosterhout (October 10, 1900 – January 28, 1979) was a legislator and state court judge in northwestern Iowa, and a United States federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Van Oosterhout was born in Orange City, Iowa. He received a B.A. from State University of Iowa in 1922, and a J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1924. He was in private practice in Orange City from 1924 to 1933. In the last four of those years (from 1929 to 1933) he also served as a Republican member of the Iowa House of Representatives. He was a judge on the 21st Judicial District of Iowa from 1933 to 1954.
On August 16, 1954, Van Oosterhout was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated when a fellow Iowan, Seth Thomas, assumed senior status. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 20, 1954, and received his commission on August 26, 1954. He served as chief judge of the Eighth Circuit from 1968 to 1970. He assumed senior status on July 6, 1971, and served in that capacity until his death on January 28, 1979.