Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced earlier this year that she wouldn’t defend the law because it violates federal equal-rights protections as interpreted by last year’s Supreme Court decision.
Several lawyers on both sides of the issue say the lack of opposition will almost undoubtedly lead McShane to strike down Oregon’s constitutional prohibition.
McShane also became known around the courthouse for having a temper. He could be particularly tough on lawyers he saw as unprepared. One prosecutor privately calls him an “equal-opportunity screamer” given to chewing out hapless attorneys.
For years, McShane collected religious icons and was frequently given pictures of St. Michael.
“I don’t think he’s a practicing Catholic,” says Bergstrom. “But I think it informs his life. ... I think he would say he considers himself a Catholic.”
With one longtime ex-partner, McShane adopted a young boy, now 20, who had come from an abusive home. He’s now helping rear the 13-year-old nephew of his current partner, Gregory Ford, who has gone back to school to become a nurse.
McShane’s sexual orientation may have helped him get a foot in the door to be considered for a federal judgeship. The Obama administration has pressed for a more diverse federal judiciary. The five finalists for the Eugene judgeship that McShane won included three women, one an African-American.
there’s been some grumbling about McShane’s involvement in the case.
John Eastman, a constitutional law professor and chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, an anti-gay marriage group, questions whether McShane has a conflict.
“The question is not his sexual orientation,” says Eastman, “but whether he is situated identically to the plaintiffs and will benefit from the exact relief he provides to them.”
In other words, McShane could also get the right to marry his partner if he strikes down the Oregon prohibition on gay marriage.
http://www.oregonlive.com/mapes/index.ssf/2014/04/gay_marriage_openly_gay_judge.html
This isn't really all the judges fault.
It's not hard for a judge to make a decision in favor of one side, when the other side refuses to even show up to present a defense of the law.
That seems to be the case in many of these being overturned