Born in Pullman, Washington, Neill received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington State University in 1935 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Idaho College of Law in 1938.
in the United States Navy during World War II, from 1944 to 1946.
He was an associate justice of the Washington Supreme Court from 1967 to 1972.
[1] On June 13, 1972, Neill was nominated by President Richard Nixon to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington vacated by Judge Charles Lawrence Powell.
Neill served in that capacity until his death on October 6, 1979.