Born in Newman Grove, Nebraska,[2] Hastings attended Newman Grove High School and thereafter enrolled at the University of Nebraska, but his studies were interrupted by World War II.
[3] During the war, he worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a fingerprint analyst, also serving in the United States Army.
He also served stints as a part-time county court judge.
[3] In 1965, Governor Frank B. Morrison appointed Hastings to a state district court judgeship for Lancaster County, Nebraska from 1965 to 1979.
[2][3] On January 31, 1979, Governor Charles Thone appointed Hastings to a seat on the Nebraska Supreme Court vacated by the retirement if Judge Harry A. Spencer.