David Barra was sworn
in by Governor Phil Scott at the Washington County today, February 21, 2018, on
an uncharacteristically warm day. The thoughtful
ceremony was emceed by Montpelier attorney Paul Gillies. Attorney Gillies opened with some statistics
regarding judges sworn in in Vermont over time with a tongue-in-cheek statistic
on Judge Barra’s likelihood of becoming a Vt Supreme Court Justice. He reminded the audience that a judgeship is
truly an act of self-sacrifice and noted that David Barra is particularly
qualified as he trades in his soccer referee whistle for a gavel. After all, referees are not loved by either
team, nor the spectators, but good referees are indeed respected. Paul Gillies then stepped aside to allow
Governor Scott to give the oath that converts David Barra’s private persona
into a public persona of Judge Barra.
Governor Phil Scott
next spoke before administering the oath, noting, too that Barra’s experience
as a referee is particularly impressive to him, knowing that he has had to deal
with a fair share of angry parents. As always, Governor Scott highlighted his 4
C’s in selecting judges: character, competence, commitment and chemistry,
noting that chemistry is the hardest to find, but perhaps the most
important. He noted that Judge Barra is
more than qualified, showing the proper attitude and the ability to put others
first, putting needs ahead of egos. He
then congratulated David Barra on the successes he has earned and administered
the oath of office.
Long-time friend and
Vermont Soccer State Referee Administrator, Steve Lunna, then spoke. He noted that the two met over 20 years ago
as they joined, aspiring together to be the highest quality referees they could
be. Steve and David refereed over 200
matches a year together, and Steve noted that David Barra had the deepest
desire to make correct calls, always studying and noting any obscure rule
references to complete his knowledge. He
recalled a story about how David Barra encouraged him to referee for two
unknown schools in the midst of their D-1 college refereeing, which ended up
being one of the most rewarding referee experiences they’ve ever had. Steve
noted that now he has one friend that is a judge, and implored David’s wife,
Barbara, to keep him humble.
Another friend and
colleague, VBA President Dan Maguire, next spoke of Judge Barra’s
qualifications. Dan noted that he was
extremely nervous to speak because he was so proud of his dear friend. After remarking that Judge Barra is eminently
qualified for the job, especially due to his inherent credibility, he discussed
the onerous process in applying for a judgeship. President Maguire noted how isolating and
stressful a judgeship would be, recalling how he had tried to convince David
not to give up his freedom and success for the judgeship. But Judge Barra was undeterred and
determined, another quality that was ultimately rewarded with the honor of
being selected for the post.
Finally, Judge Barra’s
law partner, Stephen Unsworth congratulated his now former partner for this
honor. He described David Barra as a
lawyer’s lawyer who acted like a partner from the get go. He described his partner as someone who had
great successes in law and life, playing college soccer and building a
rewarding practice, but who also suffered great loss in experiencing the death
of a child. These life experiences have given Judge Barra humility, resilience
and compassion and had built a man who knew how to be kind and courteous to
all.
Judge Barra then
greeted the crowd, humorously noting that this David guy sounded like “some
nice guy!” He also joked that this would be the first time he appeared in court
without an argument to make. He thanked
all that spoke, and all present, and particularly noted that he and his law
partner, Stephen Unsworth, continued to run a successful practice because the
two of them were always fully honest with each other and knew they could count
on each other to be honest. With great
struggle, Judge Barra spoke eloquently of his deceased daughter who remains
with him despite 16 years since her passing.
He also honored and thanked with pride and deep emotion his son, with
his wife and two kids who were present, and his beautiful bride, Barbara.
Before the ceremony
ended, Judge Barra stated that he sought the judgeship to enable him to utilize
his skills to serve Vermont and do the most good. He promised to continually seek how best to
do this job, as it would always be a learning process to seek truth, do justice,
have mercy, make a difference, have courage and persist through adversity. His pledge was to strive every day to justify
the trust that has been placed in him.
Please
enjoy pictures from the event, below.
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