Randy, fellow Willamette law student, friend, and later colleague in the same law firm, related his first meeting with Vance:
When I first met him I was in the student lounge watching Perry Mason. Vance walked into the room, looked at me and said hello and the first substantive thing he said was “What is your worldview?”
I asked him, “What do you mean by that?”
He explained to me and that’s how he found out that I was a Christian and that’s how I found out that he was a Christian.
He wasn’t afraid to speak out.
Another anecdote Randy shared which illustrates Vance’s willingness to take charge and make a difference:
Willamette was founded as a Christian university and the Dean at the time was Catholic. We were graduating and there was no baccalaureate for the law students. Vance said, “Let’s do a baccalaureate!”
The Chaplain said, as a religious school we could do that. So they arranged to do a chapel and Judge Otto Skopil delivered the message (Judge Skopil was a Christian).
Vance was and is a networker and knows a lot of people…he pulled it together. Vance sang and led the hymn singing — he has a good voice.”
In other ways Vance’s faith affected his law practice. Randy remembers:
He’s always been a patriot, always conservative, always a Christian and solidly so.
The other thing is he did do a lot of pro bono work as a lawyer. He did personal injury and he saw it as a matter of stewardship.
He would bring matters of faith into client meetings. For personal injury he would take even small cases, even if he would not make money doing it.
What I learned from those around Judge Day is not what you will see in most of the Mainstream Media Press.
Vance founded the Marion County Veterans Treatment Court whose mission statement states:
The mission of the Marion County Veterans Treatment Court is to identify veterans within the criminal justice system and honor their sacrifice and service by providing a collaborative, judicially supervised, mentor-oriented treatment regime with the goal of enhancing public safety by stabilizing, habilitating and reintegrating dependence-free veterans back into our community by utilizing federal and community resources.
Day has also been closely associated with and supportive of Veterans, and especially the Band of Brothers veterans, at least one of whom was from Oregon and became Vance’s great friend.
Vance’s son Justin and wife, Mattie
The headlines stress the fact that Vance will not marry same sex couples. There are several charges being brought against Judge Day: from hanging a “picture of Hitler” in the courthouse, to seeing a felon handle a handgun, to collecting monies from other colleagues for artwork in the courthouse. But none of these charges spurred the Oregon Commission of Judicial Fitness to action until they were made aware that the judge would not marry same sex couples.
Each charge has a simple and innocuous explanation, none of which have been detailed in the press.
Also not detailed in the press is the critically important fact that marriage is not a compulsory judicial duty in Oregon, but entirely optional.
In Part 2 of this series I will get into the details of the charges, what ACTUALLY occurred, the truth about the “Hitler picture,” the nature and lack of accountability of the Commission on Judicial Fitness, and what lies ahead on Vance’s (and Mattie’s) legal journey.
The Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability receives perhaps 150 – 250 complaints per year, and maybe 1 or 2 complaints are escalated to an ethics complaint. And those 1 or 2 complaints might warrant a day-long hearing.
But for Judge Day? The CJFD is allotting 2 weeks beginning Monday, November 9 (excepting Wednesday the 11th, which is the Veterans Day holiday).
The hearings commence at 9AM each day at the Capitol Hearing Room 50 November 9 – 13, and at the Department of Transportation Ackerman Conference Room November 16 – 20.
These are public hearings, and many friends and supporters of Judge Day will be in attendance, listening and praying.
Also of note, these legal procedures are costly. Vance and Mattie having secured a home equity loan to pay some of the legal fees (which may exceed $250K), but any who would like to support the Judge may do so at DefendJudgeDay.com.
A last thought. When asked if he intends to fight these charges, most of which are baseless or overblown, Vance answered yes. When asked what the core issue is, Vance immediately responded, “This has to do with my not marrying same sex couples.”
Again, remember that performing marriage ceremonies is entirely optional for judges in the state of Oregon, and Judge Day no longer marries ANY couples.
When hinted that he should just quietly resign from his job Vance answered:
That’s not going to happen. I didn’t take this job because it’s a job, but because it’s a calling. I believe in justice. This is about judicial independence and threatening other judges or people of faith. If that’s where we’re going as a nation, I fear for our future.
Everyone, every Christian, may have their Esther moment, that point in their life where they know they were put in the position they’re in for “such a time as this.”
For this native son, who began life at Good Samaritan Hospital, and has lived his life according to biblical precepts, a real life good samaritan, this is Vance Day’s moment to stand. He does not intend to shirk it.
I, for one, am honored to tell his story, to follow the case of a brother in the faith under fire.
And I will be petitioning heaven on Judge Day’s behalf.
Part 2 to follow in the next few days…
