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

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. He was a retired justice of 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 justices. The decisions of the Idaho Supreme Court are binding on all other Idaho state courts. The only court that may reverse ...

. Elected to the court in 2000, he was chief justice from 2007 to 2011, and stepped down from the court in 2017.

Life and career

Born in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, while his father attended

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

, 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 12,133. The county seat is Murphy, and its largest city is Homedale. In area it is the second-largest county in Idah ...

, and graduated from Vallivue High School near

Caldwell Caldwell may refer to: People * Caldwell (surname) * Caldwell (given name) * Caldwell First Nation, a federally recognized Indian band in southern Ontario, Canada Places Great Britain * Caldwell, Derbyshire, a hamlet * Caldwell, East ...

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. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

for two years where he became a member of the

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...

fraternity, then enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. Eismann served two consecutive tours of duty in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

as a crew chief/door gunner on a

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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 Sou ...

from its

College of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

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 Ada County is located in the southwestern part of Idaho, United States. As of the 2021 United States census estimate, the county had a population of 511,931, making it by far the state's most populous county; it is home to 26.8% of the state's p ...

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 New Y ...

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 governor of Idaho from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2006, and reelected in 2010, and 2014. Otter ...

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 Eismann
, - {{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