'A towering figure in the law'

A former Idaho Supreme Court justice who was an Army veteran and helped establish Ada County’s drug court has died, according to a news release from the State of Idaho Judicial Branch. 

Daniel T. Eismann died Tuesday night at a Boise-area hospital. He was 77. Information regarding memorial services will be released at a later date through Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel.

Eismann spent 31 years as part of Idaho’s judiciary, retiring in 2017. He served as the Idaho Supreme Court’s chief justice from 2007 to 2011. He might best be remembered for helping develop the state’s system of treatment courts, his work with juvenile offenders and other children in the court system, and his championing of more women becoming judges. 

“Justice Eismann was a towering figure in the law, who exemplified the highest standards of judicial excellence and unwavering commitment to justice throughout his distinguished career,” current Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan said in a news release. 

“He will be remembered for his significant contributions to the law and the profound influence he had on all who had the privilege of associating with him.”

A 1976 graduate of the University of Idaho, Eismann practiced law for 10 years before being appointed as a magistrate judge for Owyhee County. He was then appointed as a district judge in Ada County in 1995 before being elected to serve on Idaho’s Supreme Court in 2000. It was during his time at the Ada County Courthouse that he saw a need for treatment courts and worked to get them implemented into the justice system. 

Eismann graduated from Vallivue High School in Caldwell in 1965. Before attending law school, he served two consecutive tours of duty with the Army in Vietnam. As a crew chief/door gunner on a Huey gunship, he was awarded two Purple Hearts for being wounded in combat and three medals for heroism.