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Biography
Montgomery Oliver Koelsch (March 5, 1912 – September 1, 1992) was a United States federal judge.
Born in Boise, Idaho, Koelsch received a B.A. in history from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1932 and an LL.B. from its School of Law in 1935. He was an attorney in private practice in Idaho in Boise from 1936 to 1950 and served as assistant prosecutor for Ada County from 1939 to 1945. Koelsch then served as a state judge in the third district from 1951 to 1959, filling a vacancy after his father Charles (1872–1965) retired from the bench.
In 1959, Koelsch was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 12 to a seat vacated by James Fee. He was confirmed as a federal judge by the U.S. Senate on September 14, and received his commission on September 23, 1959. He assumed senior status on January 31, 1976, and served in that capacity for over 16 years, until his death in Seattle at age 80 on September 1, 1992.