Daniel Thomas Eismann (February 15, 1947 – June 4, 2024) was an American lawyer and judge from

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. Elected to the

Idaho Supreme Court The Idaho Supreme Court is the state supreme court of Idaho and is composed of the chief justice and four associate judge, justices. The decisions of the Idaho Supreme Court are binding on all other Idaho State court (United States), state court ...

in 2000, he was chief justice from 2007 to 2011, and retired in 2017.

Life and career

Born in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, while his father attended

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

, Eismann was raised in Homedale in

Owyhee County Owyhee County ( ) is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,913. The county seat is Murphy, and its largest city is Homedale. In area it is the second-largest county in I ...

, and graduated from Vallivue High School near

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in 1965. He attended the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

for two years where he became a member of the

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 9, 1856.Baird, William Raimond, ed. (1905).Baird's Manual of American College Fratern ...

fraternity, then enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. Eismann served two consecutive tours of duty in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

as a crew chief/door gunner on a Huey gunship helicopter, and was awarded two purple hearts for being wounded in combat and three medals for heroism. After an honorable discharge from the military, he returned to UI to complete his undergraduate degree in sociology and then graduated

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

from its College of Law in 1976. Eismann went into private practice in Homedale, and was appointed a magistrate judge in Owyhee County in 1986 and a district judge in Ada County in 1995. Eismann unseated supreme court justice

Cathy Silak Cathy R. Silak (born May 25, 1950) is the former dean of the Concordia University School of Law in Boise, Idaho. She is a former justice of the Idaho Supreme Court and the Idaho Court of Appeals. Silak graduated from New York University in Ne ...

in the statewide election in May 2000, the only defeat for an incumbent on the court since 1944. Eismann was unopposed for re-election in 2006 and 2012, and retired in August 2017. Governor

Butch Otter Clement Leroy "Butch" Otter (born May 3, 1942) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 32nd List of Governors of Idaho, governor of Idaho from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, h ...

appointed Richard Bevan of the fifth district ( Twin Falls) to fill the seat, who was unopposed for election Eismann died on June 4, 2024, at the age of 77 at a hospital in the Boise area.

References

External links

Ballotpedia''Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans:'' Dan EismannObituaryIdaho Judicial Branch
– death notice , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Eismann, Daniel T. 1947 births 2024 deaths United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Justices of the Idaho Supreme Court People from Owyhee County, Idaho University of Idaho alumni United States Army soldiers University of Idaho College of Law alumni Chief justices of the Idaho Supreme Court