Yesterday was a busy day for the VBA. It began in the House
Government Operations Committee where Deputy Secretary of State Chris Winters
presented a bill that would regulate notaries public. The bill, H. 206 can be
read here:
It is needed, he said, to provide standards for notarial
acts, create a stable system of regulation and insure Vermont’s standards are
compatible with those of other states. Applications and renewals would be
online an run by the secretary of state’s office of professional regulation. The
cost would double ($30 every two years instead of every four) with the money
going to the state (I believe) instead of the counties. You should all review
the bill as it will affect you and members of your office staff. Please get
your comments, if any to me as the VBA will be asked to weigh in.
I met with the Executive Director of Vermont Legal Aid, Eric
Avildsen, in the morning shortly after he spoke with the appropriations committee
member responsible for his (AHS) budget. The governor has recommended a
reduction in the VLA grant of $47,000. While that amount may seem small, those
dollars bring in a dollar for dollar federal match, making that 47K cut almost
a $100,000 loss. If that happens, VLA will be funded at about the 2008 level. In
actuality it needs a $75,000 increase just to keep up with inflation.
I spent the afternoon with the judiciary in the house
appropriations committee as they made their budget presentation. The chief
justice led off with an overview of the underfunding crisis and his use of
vacancy savings to stay within budget. But he called vacancy savings a “cancer
on the branch; continued erosion of support for the courts is leading to
distrust and disrespect of the courts”.
He was followed by court administrator Pat Gabel and Chief
Superior Judge Brian Grearson along with CFO Matt Riven. They all testified
firmly and effectively in opposition to the governor’s recommended cut of
$500,000 in FY16. This 9 page document is worth a read, especially pages 4 to
6:
The budget bill will not be voted out of the House until
after the Town Meeting recess. I urge all of you to contact your representatives
now to ask that they NOT support the reduction in judicial funding. Don’t just
call, email or leave a message; try to start a conversation and try to get a
commitment that they will stand with the court on its budget request. Follow up
with your legislator at Town Meeting and let me know where he or she stands. This
has to be a grass roots effort and, as officers of the court, we have a
responsibility to preserve our system of justice. We need your help; it’s time
to act.
Finally, I ended my day at the evening meeting of the
judicial retention committee where three judges and two magistrates were
interviewed. These meetings are generally cordial with the candidate for
retention making an opening statement as to why he or she wants to continue to
serve. The committee then questions each one usually basing questions on the results
of the surveys.
Judge Grearson was up first and his conversation focused on
three of his roles: until recently as a full time trial judge; his role in
treatment court; and now as chief superior judge. What impressed me the most of
his comments was something he alluded to in appropriations earlier in the day. He
said vacancy savings in not a savings. “you’re not saving, you’re compromising”.
There’s more to managing a court system that trying to save money by not
filling positions. You can only do so much when morale is as low as it is right
now.
If I recall correctly Matt Riven said there are 22 unfilled
positions in the judiciary. We know that there are 3 open superior judge
positions, with another coming on February 28, when Judge Suntag retires. The fifth
will follow with the retirement of Judge Wesley this summer (I believe). And there
is talk of a sixth before September. Also, Magistrate Shelly Gartner is
retiring at the end of March. Judge Grearson can only move bodies around so
much to try to keep all dockets covered. We’ve heard from many of you about
delays already; without restoration of the funding needed, it’s going to get
worse.
Judge Teachout followed and was immediately hit with a
comment form the committee that they were disturbed at the high number of
negatives in the survey responses. Comments such as “arrogant, disrespectful,
hostile and demeaning” were heard. The judge was taken aback by those and,
although she admits to be formal in court and to insisting on following the
rules, she did not see herself in that way. But, as all retentions do, this
makes for a time of self-reflection and improvement.
I have to relate something she said though because it seemed
so odd to me. While some respondents complained about formality, Judge Teachout
spoke about having to remind counsel in court to rise when addressing the
court! Maybe I’ve been out of practice too long but I never heard anything of
the sort. Have we really gotten that lax? Are we no longer mentoring new
lawyers? Should the VBA be training new lawyers about protocol? Aren’t law
schools doing that? It surprised me and I know it surprised the other judges in
the room.
Judge Van Benthuysen addressed two issues in his comments:
first, he said that one year rotations are too short, especially for judges
that cover treatment courts. Secondly, he questioned our practice of generalist
judges saying “we’re not all equally good in all dockets”.
The two magistrates Mary Harlow and Christine Hoyt, facing
retention for the first time, were well received. Each spoke to being nervous
with eh new process and each felt humbled by reading comments about their
performance. They did well overall. Each was asked about how they handle a case
when only one side is represented. They spoke to their duty to help develop the
evidence and the ways they may use to do that.
Sorry for the length of today’s post but, as I said at the
beginning, it was a busy day. As always, thanks for reading. But now we need
you to act. Call your legislators; meet them at town Meeting; let them know of
the crisis the court is facing. Thanks.
Stay warm.
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