[2] In November 1898, he ran on the Republican and United Labor Party ticket for another term but lost the election to Democratic Walter Van Dyke.

[5][6] After stepping down from the court, he practiced in the firm of Mastic, Belcher, Van Fleet & Mastick.

[2] On April 2, 1907, Van Fleet received a recess appointment from President Theodore Roosevelt to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California created by 34 Stat.

[1] Van Fleet served until his death on September 3, 1923,[1] in San Francisco, California.

On April 12, 1877, he married Mary Isabella Carey, who died in Sacramento on February 14, 1878.