Providence Justice Done After 19 years on Bench

February 17th, 2011

Utah: Providence: Justice Allan D. Vail will be retiring on February 20th, 2011 due to a state-mandated retirement age. Vail, who is 74 years old and married with one son, lives near Nibley in an unincorporated area of the county and has been a justice in Cache Valley for 19 years now. He has brought an amazing arrange of experience to the court room and has never had a single complaint filed against his court. Only three of his rulings were appealed to a higher court with just one case overturned.

Vail's experience includes working decades as a federal law enforcement officer, in addition to 17 years with the U.S. Border Patrol in Laredo, Texas, where he tracked illegal immigrants and patrolled traffic entering the city. Later on, he was transferred to Springfield, Illinois working as an anti-human smuggling agent, followed by moving to work in Nevada with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's drug task force. Vail also worked for the Bureau of Land Management as a law enforcement officer, mainly working with investigating artifacts in Southern Utah.

Vail believes it was his experience in the workforce that helped him to land the job as a part-time justice in Cache County, and after looking over the past two decades of rulings, Vail feels that being a judge is about helping people.

"I felt I was there not to persecute people but to help them. I really felt good about everything we did. We had a good court and I was fortunate to have three good clerks," Vail stated.

One of Vail's favorite things to do as a judge was performing marriages. After adding up all of the couples he has married, Vail was surprised at the number.

"I've performed 1,618 ceremonies. That's a lot of Saturdays that you don't get to spend on picnics with your family," he said.

The state is giving Vail the new title of active senior judge, therefore he will be able to continue marrying couples, as well as step in temporarily for sick or absent justice court judges. However, his days as an official employee of the state has now come to an end.

"I definitely will miss it. I'll miss being on the bench and that closeness with fellow judges," he said.

There will be a retirement reception that will take place on February 17th, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Old Rock Church in Providence.