A judge on Tuesday dismissed all criminal charges against suspended Marion County Circuit Judge Vance Day on the eve of his trial because a key witness wasn’t willing to participate.

A 12-person jury was expected to hear opening statements Wednesday on allegations that Day allowed a felon to handle a firearm on two occasions.

But lawyers for the Oregon Department of Justice asked Multnomah County Senior Circuit Judge Julie Frantz to dismiss the case.

The move means Day's criminal troubles are over because the statute of limitations has passed for refiling charges against him.

Day couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, but his attorneys described the judge as a "thoughtful and caring jurist dedicated to the citizens of Marion County and all of the participants in the Veterans Treatment Court."

"We are gratified that the Oregon Department of Justice finally dismissed this case. It is disappointing that it took nearly two years and an incredible waste of our public funds to reach this result," defense attorneys Mike De Muniz and Steven Sherlag said in a statement.

"Judge Day was looking forward to finally receiving a transparent and public airing of the facts, which we believe would have led to an acquittal on all charges," they said.

Day made national headlines for his refusal to marry same-sex couples. But that's not what led to the charges against him.

Day was accused of a felony for allegedly giving a drunken driving defendant, Brian Shehan, permission to handle a gun in the home of Day’s son-in-law and later while target shooting with Day’s son. Day also was fighting two misdemeanor charges of first-degree official misconduct.

On Wednesday, the Department of Justice described the decision to drop the case as "difficult," but acknowledged that it did so because the key witness -- Shehan -- chose not to testify during trial.

"After assessing our options, we decided to honor this veteran's decision to no longer participate in the proceedings," said Michael Slauson, chief counsel for the Department of Justice's criminal division, in a written statement.

Shehan, a decorated former Navy SEAL, was in Day's Veterans Treatment Court program, according to a January 2016 report by the Oregon Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability. In November 2013, Day drove Shehan to the home of Day's son-in-law, so Shehan could perform some work there, according to the report.

Although Day had repeatedly told Shehan in court that he was prohibited from being around guns as a felon, the judge gave Shehan permission to handle a gun at the home by removing a clip and making sure it wasn't loaded, the report said.

The report also found that in January 2014, Day and his son went to Shehan's home uninvited and let him handle a gun that they brought with them. Day's son returned to Shehan's home later that day and the two practiced shooting the gun, according to the report.

Shehan has since moved out of state.

Day was appointed to his judgeship in 2011 by then-Gov. John Kitzhaber. He was elected to a full six-year term in November 2012.

But in March, Day began a three-year suspension handed down by the Oregon Supreme Court for a series of ethical violations that included "willful misconduct" and "willful misstatements" to cover up the truth, according to the high court.

The Supreme Court found that Day acted with prejudice against same-sex couples by deciding he wouldn't marry them and he instructed his staff to employ a scheme to avoid "public detection" of his plan. Day's attorneys had argued that he was acting on his deeply held religious beliefs, and that they were constitutionally protected.

The Supreme Court also ruled Day had allowed Shehan to handle the guns.

The Oregon Department of Justice noted that the Supreme Court's decision to discipline Day means he had already been held accountable on some level.

"Although we believe that a criminal sanction was warranted, we also recognize that the Oregon Supreme Court has already addressed his misconduct on the bench by taking the extraordinary step of suspending him for three years," said Slauson, in his written statement.

The suspension was far longer than any other imposed in the Supreme Court's history, with the exception of two Oregon judges it ordered removed from office: Multnomah County Circuit Judge Shirley Field in 1978 for inability to cope with emotional problems and Josephine County Circuit Judge Kim Jordan in 1981 for accusations that he lied under oath and found a defendant guilty of a crime in the absence of a defense attorney.

Day's criminal trial had been moved to Multnomah County after he successfully argued that he couldn't get a fair hearing in Marion County because of extensive publicity. Jury selection for the trial had begun at the East County Courthouse in Gresham.

Day's current term ends this year. His suspension means he couldn't seek re-election. He won't be paid for the remainder of his term.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court left the suspension in place, refusing to hear Day's appeal. Day had argued he was singled out for his opposition to same-sex marriage.

-- Aimee Green