G. Thomas Eisele, a Hot Springs native and longtime U.S. district judge in Little Rock who was one of the first to challenge mandatory sentencing guidelines, died on Sunday, one of his former clerks confirmed. He was 94.
Widely respected in legal circles regionally and nationally, Eisele spent 41 years on the bench after his appointment by President Richard Nixon in 1970.
U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson called Eisele "the brightest star in the federal judiciary," adding that Eisele was once among the most influential federal judges in the country.
Eisele was known for his thorough opinions which flowed from a wellspring of intellect.
"Brilliance, strong, brave, physically courageous, very even-handed and fair," Wilson said in a phone interview Sunday evening. "He was willing to be unpopular if he thought he was right."
The Harvard-educated Eisele made many impactful rulings during his tenure, ranging from civil-rights issues, treatment of the mentally ill, environmental matters and death penalty cases. He even issued an opinion as a senior judge in 1997 questioning whether Whitewater Prosecutor Kenneth Starr had a conflict of interest investigating Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Before taking his seat on the bench, Eisele was heavily involved in Republican politics.
He often heralded Arkansas' legal community, upon which he had a substantial impact. He had 50 law clerks, some of whom became judges themselves.
"He was a wonderful, kind man," said Edie Ervin, one of Eisele's longtime clerks. "He treated everyone the same."
A veteran of the Army during World War II, Eisele was chief judge of the Eastern District of Arkansas for 16 years until he took on senior status in 1991. The judge, known for his bushy eyebrows and absolute respectfulness, continued to preside over cases until he completely stepped back in 2011.
He long opposed mandatory sentencing guidelines before it was en vogue, said Wilson, the federal judge. He twice ruled the guidelines unconstitutional, and the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately validated his concerns in 2005 when it made the guidelines advisory.
In his first major case, Eisele ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to perform a much more thorough environmental impact statement for a dam project on the Cossatot River than was standard in 1971.
Lawyers interviewed for a documentary-style video tribute to Eisele after his 2011 retirement said the ruling "really rocked the boat," becoming a major precedent in the new field of environmental law.
"He was always ahead of his time," Ervin said Sunday.
Little Rock attorney Blake Hendrix in the tribute video said he looked forward to going to court before Eisele.
"But what's extraordinary to me about Judge Eisele is it's not just that you want to go to his court, it's that he -- for some reason -- makes me want to be a better lawyer," Hendrix said. "He makes me want to be the best lawyer that I can be."
In a 2010 bench trial, Eisele found that the city of Alexander and its police force had racially profiled Hispanics, awarding compensatory and punitive damages.
The plaintiff's attorney in that case, Reggie Koch, said in the documentary that his clients couldn't believe a federal judge believed them over a police officer.
Good lawyers loved practicing in Eisele's court, Wilson said. But for poor attorneys, it was another story.
"He didn't tolerate sloppiness and misdirection," Wilson said.
Wilson added that Eisele was "a German and hard-headed," but if shown he was wrong, he'd change course. That, Wilson said, is a trait judges too often lack.
In 1980, The American Lawyer named Eisele Best District Judge in the 8th Circuit, remarking he was "one of those rare judges who combine intellectual brilliance and a sense of humor with what may be his most prominent feature: courage."
He was named Outstanding Federal Trial Court Judge by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America in 1977, but the ever-humble Eisele told an Arkansas Gazette reporter at the time, "I'm not even the best trial judge in Arkansas."
In the same article, Eisele was asked what made a good judge.
"You want a man of integrity, and enough intelligence to understand the issues," Eisele said at the time. "You want some wisdom, and a lot of patience. You want a judge who's courteous to all the people who appear before him. By the nature of the office, a judge has a great deal of power. He has to be careful not to throw his weight around. But primarily, you're looking for a judge who is fair."
For Wilson, Eisele was the ideal judge.
"He was my judicial hero," Wilson said.
Information for this report was provided by Linda Satter of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Local on 11/28/2017