Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Neville received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota in 1931, and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1933. He was a law clerk for the Supreme Court of Minnesota from 1933 to 1935, and then was in private practice of law until 1967. He was also a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School from 1937 to 1967. He was a municipal judge for the village of Edina, Minnesota from 1948 to 1952. He was the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota from 1952 to 1953.
