There’s
a
lot
that’s
shocking
about
the
Department
of
Justice’s
latest
hire
—
former
Oregon
judge,
Vance
Day.
Day
has
a
*history*
of
questionable
behavior
that
got
him
the
longest
suspension
(at
the
time)
in
the
history
of
the
Oregon
bar.
But,
for
my
money,
the
most
WTF
moment
(and
in
the
year
of
our
lord
2025,
that
is
saying
SOMETHING)
is
that
Day
hung
a
portrait
of
none
other
than
Adolf
Hitler
in
the
courthouse.
But
there’s
so
much
else
to
say
about
Day
that
tidbit
is
the
closing
throwaway
in
Talking
Points
Memo’s
write-up
of
the
hire.
Day
was
appointed
to
the
role
of
senior
counsel
to
the
Office
of
the
Deputy
Attorney
General.
But
his
tenure
in
Oregon
is
riddled
with
controversy.
One
[incident]
involved
Day
allegedly
using
his
status
as
a
judge
to
try
to
intimidate
the
referee
at
his
son’s
soccer
game;
the
court
found
that
Day
then
tried
to
mislead
an
inquiry
into
the
incident
by
suggesting
that
he
had
been
assaulted.In
another
case,
Day
allegedly
concocted
a
scheme
to
avoid
having
to
certify
gay
marriages.
Staffers
at
the
court
were
instructed
to
tell
gay
couples
that
Day
was
not
available
on
the
day
that
they
requested,
allowing
him
to
avoid
having
to
perform
the
marriage.In
another
incident,
according
to
court
records,
Day
had
developed
a
friendship
with
a
former
Navy
SEAL
who
had
pleaded
guilty
to
a
felony
DUI
charge
in
his
court.
The
court
found
that
Day
had
allowed
the
veteran
to
handle
guns
with
members
of
his
family
in
two
instances,
violating
the
terms
of
the
guilty
plea.
Oregon’s
supreme
court
wrote,
“He
falsely
accused
another
person
of
assaulting
him,
and
he
otherwise
acted
dishonestly
and
for
his
own
self-benefit.”
They
continued,
“His
misconduct
suggested
a
character
that
reflected
poorly
on
his
fitness
to
serve
as
a
judge
and
his
ability
to
exercise
sound
judgment.”
And
of
course,
there’s
the
Hitler
thing.
In
2015,
it
came
to
light
that
Day
put
up
a
collage,
as
described
by
the
court:
That
collage
included
a
painted
portrait
of
Adolf
Hitler
that
had
been
cut
from
a
frame
at
the
end
of
World
War
II
by
a
local
veteran
serving
in
Germany.
In
the
collage,
the
portrait
was
partially
covered
by
World
War
II-era
photographs,
letters,
and
memorabilia
from
the
veteran,
and
it
was
surrounded
by
photographs
of
American
soldiers
during
the
war,
medals
awarded
to
the
veteran,
and
other
memorabilia.
Yikes.
Day
defended
the
pics
as
a
patriotic
celebration
of
WW2,
but
I
mean,
come
on.
I
bet
you’ve
seen
a
bunch
of
American
WW2
propaganda,
and
very
little
of
it
contains
artful
images
of
Hitler.
Of
course
the
right
wing
is
circling
the
wagons
around
Day.
The Oregon
Conservative
Caucus
said,
“An
early
target
of
political
lawfare,
Vance
has
been
a
staunch
1A
rights
advocate
and
a
wise
source
of
counsel
for
us
in
many
areas.”
Sigh.
Sounds
like
the
perfect
guy
to
assist
in
running
the
DOJ.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].