Judge Vahle was raised in Arapahoe County and graduated from Arapahoe High School. He graduated cum laude from Westmont College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. He then worked for several years at a juvenile detention center, and for a number of months at the Denver Children’s Home before enrolling in Law School at the University of Denver. He graduated a semester early in the top ten percent of his class, and went to work for the District Attorney’s in the 18th Judicial District. After 12 years in that office he was appointed to the County Court bench by Governor William Ritter in June of 2008. After serving 10 years as a County Judge, he was appointed to the District Court bench by Governor John Hickenlooper in July of 2018.