He was a United States Navy Reserve officer during World War II in 1943.
[1] On February 14, 1950, Steckler was nominated by President Harry S. Truman to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana vacated by Judge Robert C. Baltzell.
He served as Chief Judge from 1954 to 1982 and as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1962 to 1964.
[1] He assumed senior status on December 31, 1986, serving in that capacity until his death on March 8, 1995, at his Indianapolis home from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
[2] Steckler was also an adjunct faculty member of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law from 1975 to 1979.