POCATELLO — Retired district court judge Peter McDermott, who presided over many high-profile local cases during his decades on the bench, passed away on Jan. 9 from pancreatic cancer.
He was 85.
Born in Pocatello in 1939, McDermott attended Pocatello High School and Idaho State University before graduating from the University of Idaho College of Law in 1968. He practiced at a family law firm until 1981 when he was appointed as a district judge in Pocatello for the 6th Judicial District. After dutifully serving on the bench for 28 years, McDermott retired in 2009…