Vermont

Microsoft’s new deputy GC will lead efforts on privacy, cybersecurity

Julie Brill, the longtime consumer advocate and former member of the Federal Trade Commission, will join Microsoft Corp. this summer to lead its privacy and regulatory affairs group, Law.com reported Friday. Brill’s title will be Deputy General Counsel for Privacy and Regulatory Affairs, according to a Microsoft corporate blog. She…

May 2, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Prosecutor gets Carnegie hero award for disarming woman

A Vermont prosecutor who grabbed a rifle from an assailant is among 25 people who are receiving a Carnegie Medal for heroism. Washington County, Vermont, State’s Attorney Scott Williams received the award for disarming a woman who shot a social worker with a hunting rifle, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission…

Sep 28, 2016 9:37 AM CDT

Female former prosecutor files pay bias suit

A former county prosecutor in Vermont has filed a federal lawsuit claiming she was paid about $14,000 less per year than a male prosecutor in the same position. Lawyer Jane O’Neill sued the Rutland County State’s Attorneys office in a suit filed last month, the Burlington Free Press reports. O’Neill…

Aug 15, 2016 12:26 PM CDT

Indiana and Vermont regulate consumer litigation funding

Indiana and Vermont are now regulating firms providing litigation funding for clients in civil lawsuits. According to Reuters’ On the Case blog, Indiana and Vermont on July 1 joined six other states that have passed some form of law protecting consumers from predatory litigation funding companies or services. The Indiana…

Jul 7, 2016 4:12 PM CDT

Star of reality TV fishing program ‘Wicked Tuna’ gets probation for disability fraud

A star of a reality television show was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Burlington, Vermont, to four years of probation for accepting disability benefits while working as a fishing boat captain on Wicked Tuna. Paul Hebert, 51, also was required to pay $53,600 in restitution prior to sentencing, and…

Jun 9, 2016 12:15 PM CDT

Slaying of social worker prompts state to move office to courthouse

The slaying of a Vermont social worker earlier this year, along with three relatives of a suspect accused of shooting all four victims to death over a child-custody dispute, has prompted the state to move all of the social worker’s colleagues to a safer location. The social workers will now…

Nov 6, 2015 5:00 PM CST

Alleged rape in courthouse restroom follows complaints of harassment by female lawyers

A defendant in a Vermont drug case has been charged with raping a female acquaintance in a women’s restroom at the Burlington criminal courthouse last week. However, authorities did not release news of the alleged courthouse sexual assault until a week later, on Thursday evening, after the Burlington Free Press…

Oct 23, 2015 9:00 AM CDT

Divorcing husband can’t sue wife’s lawyers for alleged overzealous representation, court says

A divorcing husband who claimed his wife’s law firm ran up its legal bills with excessive discovery and unreasonable legal claims won’t be able to pursue his lawsuit alleging fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. The Vermont Supreme Court upheld dismissal of the suit in an Oct. 16 opinion (PDF),…

Oct 21, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Midnight motion wins almost immediate court order allowing public defender to see client

Denied access Aug. 7 to a jailed woman suspected of killing a state social worker and three relatives after losing a child-custody case, the Vermont defender general’s office swung into action. Staff attorney Kelly Green said she called Barre city police at 9:20 p.m. asking to see Jody Herring. The…

Aug 17, 2015 4:35 PM CDT

Many courts close early Monday, plan to stay shuttered Tuesday as predicted monster snowstorm looms

As snow began falling Monday in what is forecast as a potential record-breaking blizzard in the Northeast, court officials joined those in charge of schools and other government offices in declaring an anticipatory shutdown. Amidst airport and school closings and warnings against unnecessary travel, a number of Boston and New…

Jan 26, 2015 4:50 PM CST

Man banned from school board meetings wins $147K settlement

A Vermont man banned from school board meetings for two years after he criticized the school district has agreed to a $147,500 settlement. The settlement followed a September ruling by a federal judge that the Addison-Rutland Supervisory Union violated Marcel Cyr’s constitutional right to free speech and due process by…

Jan 6, 2015 9:35 AM CST

Law school gets $759K federal agriculture grant

Vermont Law School is getting a $759,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which provides funds to study legal issues related to agriculture. The grant will fund a three-year partnership between the school’s Center for Agriculture and Food Systems and the USDA’s National Agriculture Library, the Associated Press reports.…

Sep 24, 2014 5:25 PM CDT

Vermont law student and his mother die in murder-suicide

Called to a home for a welfare check in Amherst, New Hampshire, on Tuesday, police discovered the bodies of a Vermont law student and his mother. Police say the student, John Trombly, killed his mother with an AK-47 assault rifle before turning the gun on himself, report the Burlington Free…

Sep 18, 2014 7:04 AM CDT

Attorney pulls into ditch during traffic stop, is arrested after altercation over tow truck

June 12 was not a good day for Vermont lawyer Peter Martin. Pulled over on a curve by a St. Albans police officer for having tinted windows on his Cadillac sedan (its license plate says SOSUMI), he drove into a roadside ditch as he attempted to get back into the…

Jun 26, 2014 5:25 PM CDT

Food manufacturing associations challenge Vermont’s GMO labeling law

Four major manufacturing associations are seeking to invalidate Vermont’s law requiring manufacturers to disclose on labels when their products have genetically modified organisms. The Burlington Free Press reported that the groups filed a lawsuit late Thursday in Vermont federal district court. The Grocery Manufacturers Association the Snack Food Association, the…

Jun 13, 2014 7:46 PM CDT