Joyce Vance: Sweet Home

The Oath with Chuck Rosenberg

MSNBC

Chuck Rosenberg, News, Biden, News Commentary, Government, Politics

4.8 • 15.8K Ratings

🗓️ 2 October 2019

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Joyce Vance was an Assistant United States Attorney in Alabama for many years. Rising through the ranks in Birmingham, she was confirmed by the Senate as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. She handled a wide variety of fascinating cases, including one in which the police preyed on vulnerable immigrants in a small Alabama town. Her path to public service was borne partly of tragedy. In 1989, her father-in-law and federal appellate judge Robert Vance, was murdered by a mail bomb. That event set Joyce Vance on her path to federal prosecutor in her adopted home of Birmingham. Joyce is also an avid knitter and a well-known contributor of legal analysis to MSNBC. Email us any thoughtful feedback at [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0	I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
0:11.0	But I will bear true faith and allegiance to the sea that I take this obligation freely.
0:15.5	Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.
0:24.5	So help me God, it's a help me God.
0:26.5	So help me God.
0:30.5	Welcome to the Oath. I'm Chuck Rosenberg and I am honored to be your host for another thoughtful conversation with a fascinating guest.
0:38.0	Many of you know Joyce Vance from her impressive work as a legal analyst on MSNBC. Before taking on that role, Joyce was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama in Birmingham.
0:49.5	Joyce shares a deeply personal and tragic event in her own life on the show.
0:55.0	In 1989, her beloved father-in-law, a federal appellate court judge Robert Vance, was killed by a male bomb delivered to his home.
1:01.5	That male bomb also grievously injured Judge Vance's wife.
1:05.5	The cold-blooded murder of Joyce's father-in-law inspired her to become a federal prosecutor in her adopted home state of Alabama.
1:13.5	It also helped to shape her views on criminal justice issues, including the death penalty.
1:19.0	As a federal prosecutor, Joyce handled a wide variety of important cases, including a difficult and disturbing corruption case involving a small Alabama police department.
1:29.5	She is here to share her story with you.
1:31.5	Joyce Vance, welcome to the Oath.
1:33.5	Thanks for having me, Chuck.
1:34.5	Oh, it's a pleasure to have you. Tell us a little bit about Joyce Vance.
1:38.5	I grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles, raised by a single parent mom who taught preschool and was very dedicated to education.
1:47.5	So I had a very sort of a rich upbringing. She was interested in a lot of different things and I benefited from that exposure.
1:53.5	Siblings?
1:54.5	No siblings. With my mom, she and my dad were divorced and I've got four half brothers from his second marriage.
2:00.5	Wonderful. So I assume you graduated from high school in Los Angeles, too.
	...

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