PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A judge dismissed all criminal charges against a suspended Marion County Circuit judge on the eve of his trial because a key witness in the case against him wasn’t willing to participate.
News outlets report a jury was expected to hear opening statements Wednesday on whether Vance Day allowed a felon to handle a firearm on two occasions.
However, lawyers for the Oregon Department of Justice asked Multnomah County Circuit Senior Judge Julie Frantz to dismiss the case.
Charges won’t be refiled because the statute of limitations has passed.
Day was accused of allowing a felony drunken driving defendant to handle a gun in a home and while target shooting.
Day previously made national headlines for his refusal to marry same-sex couples.
The Oregon Supreme Court suspended him in March for three years after determining that Day had lied to ethics investigators.