of the United States for the District of Columbia (now the United States District Court for the District of Columbia) vacated by Judge Alfred Adams Wheat. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 20, 1942, and received his commission on January 23, 1942. His service terminated on November 30, 1944, due to his death. Death Eicher died of a heart attack in Alexandria, Virginia, at age 65. At the time of his death, Eicher had presided for over seven months at the trial of 30 suspected Axis conspirators and sympathizers. Time magazine characterized the trial as "biggest and noisiest sedition trial in United States history", and reported that "no one in Washington doubted that a ludicrously undignified trial had hastened the death of a scrupulously dignified judge." Eicher's death caused a mistrial. After the war ended, the government chose not to prosecute again, and Judge Bolitha James Laws dismissed the charges against the defendants. He was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in Washington, Iowa. References External links 1878 births 1944 deaths Morgan Park Academy alumni University of Chicago alumni Members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia United States district court judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt 20th-century American judges American Mennonites People from Washington County, Iowa Iowa lawyers Virginia Democrats Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa People from Washington, Iowa Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel