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Biography
Thomas George Nelson (November 14, 1936 – May 4, 2011) was a United States federal judge.
Born and raised in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Nelson graduated from Idaho Falls High School on 1955 and attended the University of Idaho in Moscow. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity, and received an LL.B. from its College of Law in 1962. Nelson served as assistant state attorney general and chief deputy state attorney general from 1963 to 1965. He was in the United States Army Reserve from 1965 to 1968 and was in private practice of law in Twin Falls from 1965 to 1990.
In 1990, Nelson was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by President George H. W. Bush on July 18 for the seat vacated by the death of Blaine Anderson in 1988. Nelson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 12 and received his commission on October 17, 1990.
He was on the bench for thirteen years when he assumed senior status on November 14, 2003, Nelson died at age 74 on May 4, 2011, and is buried at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery in Boise.