Oregon Judge Who Refused to Perform Same-Sex Marriages Accused of Ethical Misconduct
An Oregon judge who allegedly refused to perform same-sex weddings is under fire for violating more than a dozen state codes. He is also accused of hanging a photo of Adolf Hitler in the county's courthouse.
Circuit Court Judge Vance D. Day, who stopped officiating both heterosexual and homosexual weddings in the spring, faces an ethics hearing in November for allegedly violating the Oregon Code of Judicial Conduct and the Oregon Constitution on several occasions, reports NBC News. According to documents provided by the Oregon Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability, Judge Day engaged in questionable conduct that affects his ability to serve as a judge.
Although Marion County Circuit Judge Day is not mandated to perform same-sex weddings under county law, an ethics panel alleges that he ordered his staff screen wedding applicants to ensure that they weren't of the same sex. That, however, is just one of the 13 counts being charged against him.
In response, a spokesman for Day told NBC station KGW last week that Day's refusal to perform same-sex weddings is based on his "deeply held religious beliefs" and that he was exercising his "religious freedom rights under the First Amendment."
He also issued a 44-page counterclaim on Tuesday, denying any wrongdoing and accusing the commission of failing to perform its investigative duties in "good faith." He added that he became a target because of his "firmly held religious beliefs rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition that defines marriage as between a female and a male."
Further, the complaint "fails to provide fair warning to judges like Judge Day that their unwillingness to perform non-mandatory, non-judicial duties because of sincerely-held religious beliefs is unconstitutionally vague under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution."
Day also responded to allegations that he hung a portrait of Adolf Hitler in the Marion County Courthouse, reports KOIN 6.
"Three wall hangings were created and hung in July of 2014 to honor the service of a local medical doctor," Day said. "One of the wall hangings emphasized how a liberal democracy overcame the scourge of fascism and, as part of the background behind [the doctor's] memorabilia, the wall hanging did contain an old painting from that period of Adolf Hitler."
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