Oregon judge accused of screening out same-sex wedding applicants faces disciplinary hearing
An Oregon judge accused of having his staff screen wedding applications to exclude same-sex couples is facing disciplinary proceedings next week.
Marion County Circuit Court Judge Vance Day is also accused of hanging a picture of Hitler in the county courthouse; allowing a felon to use a gun; soliciting money from lawyers; and other allegations of misconduct, the Oregonian reports. An earlier ABA Journal story has more details.
Day, 54, has told the newspaper that some of the things he’s accused of never happened. He also claimed that some of the things that did happen did not violate the state’s code of judicial conduct.
The judge, who opposes same-sex marriage, said he asked his staff to direct gay couples who want to wed to other judges. He later stopped performing weddings altogether.
“As a conservative—a Christian and a Republican—I know there are people who don’t like my profile as a judge,” he told the newspaper in early October. “I was trying to stay under the radar, stay true to my religious beliefs, not be rude to people, and gently step away from the situation.”
The picture of Hitler mentioned in the complaint was part of an art exhibit that Day helped a local veteran install in the Marion County Veterans Treatment Court, Day told the Oregonian in September. While a portion of it “did contain a poorly preserved original painting of Adolf Hitler,” he said, “The wall art was not intended to honor fascism, but to honor the Americans that defeated the dreadful ideology.” Day also says that when a fellow judge requested it be removed because it might offend someone, he complied.
The Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability, in a formal complaint (PDF) against Day, has accused the judge of violating rules that require judges to observe high standards of conduct; forbid judges from engaging in conduct that reflects adversely on a judge’s character, competence, temperament or fitness; and prohibit conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.
A hearing on the allegations, which is set to begin Nov. 9, is expected to last two weeks.
Day was appointed to the bench in 2011 by then-Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat. If the commission determines Day has violated the rules, he could face sanctions ranging from censure to removal from office.
