Concord, Vermont civil rights lawyers representing Plaintiff challenging arrest and detention.

Mohsen Mahdawi is an undergraduate student at Columbia University. He is also a Lawful Permanent Resident who has lived in the United States for over a decade and is in the process of applying to become a U.S. citizen. When Mahdawi appeared for his naturalization interview in Vermont on April 14... More...    $0 (05-12-2025 - vt)

Defendants, administrators and clerks of the Vermont Superior Court, appeal from the judgment and permanent injunction of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont (Christina Reiss, J.) in favor of Plaintiffs, news and related media organizations. Beginning in 2020, when Vermont courts transitioned to electronic filing, the Superior Court adopted a policy of denying public acces... More...    $0 (03-11-2025 - VT)

Burlington, Vermont witness tampering charge criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant, Mack Stevens, 46, of Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, was charged with one count of attempting to obstruct a federal investigation into the relationship between Mr. Mack’s former employer, Practice Fusion, Inc., and Purdue Pharma LP, the seller of extended release opioid products, including OxyContin.
More...    $0 (03-12-2021 - VT)

8 was simultaneously monumental and incremental. Monumental in that its 9 changes to sentencing calculations, mandatory minimums, good behavior credits 10 and other parts of our criminal laws led to the release of thousands of imprisoned 11 people whom Congress and the Executive believed did not need to be 12 incarcerated. Incremental, in that, rather than mandating more lenient outcomes, 13 it of... More...    $0 (10-02-2020 - VT)

The central question in this case is whether a parent may be
convicted of custodial interference under 13 V.S.A. § 2451 for interfering with the custody of the
Department for Children and Families (DCF) in the absence of a court order specifying the
schedule and limitations of the parent’s visitation. Defendant Liana Roy was convicted of
custodial interference for taking her ... More...    $0 (07-09-2018 - VT)

Defendant was convicted of his first DUI in 2006. In March 2012, defendant was
convicted of DUI-2 following entry of a guilty plea. The 2012 plea colloquy for the DUI-2
included the following exchange:

[THE COURT:] What the State says you did is that, on November 4th of 2011, at Lyndon, [you] operated a motor vehicle, specifically a Jeep Wrangler, on a public highway, tha... More...    $0 (06-28-2018 - VT)

Defendant William Schenk was charged with two counts of
disorderly conduct, in violation of 13 V.S.A. § 1026(a)(1), in connection with the distribution of
Ku Klux Klan recruitment flyers in the City of Burlington. For each count, the State charged that
the penalty should be enhanced under 13 V.S.A. § 1455 because the crime was hate-motivated.
Defendant appeals the trial cour... More...    $0 (06-11-2018 - VT)

Defendant William Schenk was charged with two counts of
disorderly conduct, in violation of 13 V.S.A. § 1026(a)(1), in connection with the distribution of
Ku Klux Klan recruitment flyers in the City of Burlington. For each count, the State charged that
the penalty should be enhanced under 13 V.S.A. § 1455 because the crime was hate-motivated.
Defendant appeals the trial cou... More...    $0 (05-05-2018 - VT)

Defendant Jack Sawyer appeals the trial court’s decision holding him without bail. Defendant is charged with four separate counts, each predicated on his alleged attempt to commit a crime, and three of which are punishable by life imprisonment. The sole question before this Court is whether the evidence of guilt is great that defendant attempted to commit any of the four charged crimes given the... More...    $0 (04-28-2018 - VT)

Defendant Jeffrey Davis appeals his conviction for financial
exploitation of a vulnerable adult under 13 V.S.A. § 1380(a) following a jury trial. He raises four
arguments on appeal. His first two arguments arise from the trial court’s denial of his motion for
a judgment of acquittal and the sufficiency of the State’s evidence. He also argues that the court’s
instructions to... More...    $0 (03-26-2018 - VT)

In 2015, defendant was living with his girlfriend. His girlfriend had a six-year-old
daughter, E.P., from a prior relationship. E.P. lived primarily with her father, but spent one night
a week at the home shared by her mother and defendant. On one of those evenings, defendant was
cutting boxes with a box cutter. The box cutter defendant was using was not a typical box cutter; More...    $0 (12-21-2017 - VT)

Following a jury trial, defendant appeals his convictions for simple
assault and disorderly conduct stemming from a late-night brawl in downtown Burlington. First,
he argues that the court abused its discretion and denied him his rights to present a defense, to
compulsory process, and to due process when it denied his motion to continue the trial despite the
unavailability of... More...    $0 (12-03-2017 - VT)

The facts as found by the trial court in defendant’s civil suspension hearing may be
summarized as follows. On October 5, 2015, a St. Albans police officer responded to a report of
a motor vehicle crash at a parking lot in St. Albans. Upon arrival at the scene, the officer observed
a pickup truck in a ditch near a telephone pole and tire marks in the gravel that suggested the
... More...    $0 (11-03-2017 - VT)

The underlying facts of this case are not in dispute. Defendant was arraigned on
July 17, 2013, for aggravated domestic assault and cruelty to a child. The Superior Court, Orange
Unit, Criminal Division imposed conditions of pretrial release that included a twenty-four-hour
curfew with exceptions only for legal and medical appointments and for emergencies. The court
restrict... More...    $0 (06-19-2017 - VT)

This case arises from a fight involving two groups of men that occurred on July 18,
2013, around midnight at the north end of Church Street in Burlington. As a result of the
altercation, defendant was charged with simple assault, disorderly conduct, and giving false
information to a police officer with the intent to deflect the investigation. At his jury trial on
February 3, ... More...    $0 (12-17-2016 - VT)

The underlying facts are not disputed. On August 5, 2013, defendant was arraigned
on a charge of possessing stolen property. Defendant was ordered to provide the court with a
surety bond or cash in the amount of $5000. Defendant’s conditions of release also required him
to come to court for scheduled hearings and to provide his attorney and the court with his updated
address... More...    $0 (12-17-2016 - VT)

Michael Blow pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute five 
grams or more of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(B) and 846.  
The district court sentenced him to 130 months in prison due, in part, to the 
court’s finding that Blow qualified as a career offender under United States 
Sentencing  Guidelines  Manual  (“USSG”)  §  4B1.1.  Section  4B1.1... More...    $0 (07-16-2016 - VT)

The altercation leading to defendant’s conviction occurred on July 29, 2014, at a
Middlebury residential facility for persons with major mental illnesses. In a sworn statement
admitted without objection, the complainant claimed that defendant initiated the altercation by
pointing his finger at the complainant. The complainant responded by kicking defendant’s hand
twice and te... More...    $0 (07-06-2016 - VT)

This appeal stems from a road rage incident in St. Albans in
which defendant Jason Gagne chased a couple across town, eventually pulling up next to their
truck and pointing a rifle at them. Before trial, defendant moved to suppress the results of his
alcohol breath test on the ground that he was not able to meaningfully communicate with his
lawyer before submitting to the te... More...    $0 (06-10-2016 - VT)

On January 22, 2014 at about 6:30 p.m., the Vermont State Police received a tip
from an identified caller about the erratic operation of a motor vehicle in the Town of Bethel.
The caller provided the vehicle’s license plate number, which the State Police used to identify
the registered owner and her address. The arresting trooper parked on South Main Street in front
of the li... More...    $0 (06-07-2016 - vT)

Defendant was convicted of simple assault in a jury trial in
December 2014 and placed on probation. He requests that this Court reverse his conviction and
remand for a new trial because the trial court improperly defined reasonable doubt for the jury,
thus lowering the standard of proof. In the alternative, he raises three arguments regarding his
probation conditions: (1) tha... More...    $0 (05-29-2016 - VT)

This interlocutory appeal calls upon us to decide whether V.S.A. § 462 creates an exemption from the general six-year limitation for the State of Vermont’s claims against a host of defendants for generalized injury to state waters as a whole due to groundwater contamination from gasoline additives. On the basis of the statute of
limitations, the trial court dismissed the State’s claims ins... More...    $0 (05-29-2016 - VT)

Defendant Dylan Stinson appeals from a judgment finding him
liable to plaintiffs Kevin and Linda Flanagan for damage to their vacation home from a fire
started in an outdoor fireplace on their deck by a group of teenagers who were there without their
permission. Stinson contends that: (1) there was insufficient evidence to find him liable for the
damage under a concerted-acti... More...    $0 (04-30-2016 - VT)

In this driving under the influence (DUI) case, the State appeals
the granting of defendant’s motion to exclude evidence collected from a traffic violation stop of
his car. The trial court granted the motion and dismissed the case because it concluded that the
trooper who conducted the stop did not have a reasonable and articulable suspicion that
defendant committed a traffic... More...    $0 (04-30-2016 - VT)

The material facts are not substantially in dispute. In 1990, the City obtained a
land-use permit for the Waterfront Park (the Park). The City hosted a number of events at the
Park in the summer of 1993 and may have hosted others prior to that time. In December 1993,
the City applied for an amendment to its permit to allow for hosting of festivals and public
events at the Pa... More...    $0 (04-16-2016 - VT)

The relevant background is as follows. Defendant was arraigned on charges of
driving under the influence (DUI) pursuant to 23 V.S.A. § 1201(a)(2) (“A person shall not
operate . . . any vehicle on a highway . . . when the person is under the influence of intoxicating
liquor.”) Before trial, defendant filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude from evidence
the arresting office... More...    $0 (03-13-2016 - VT)

In 2005 and 2008, defendant was convicted of two DUIs that occurred while he
was eighteen and twenty-one years old, respectively. In February 2014, defendant pleaded guilty
to a DUI-3, which occurred when he was twenty-seven years old. Because he had previously
been convicted of two DUIs, defendant was subject to enhanced penalties. See 23 V.S.A.
§ 1210(d) (“A person convic... More...    $0 (03-02-2016 - VT)

The events that resulted in this conviction and appeal occurred during the late
evening and early morning hours of October 26 and 27, 2012. All of the principal witnesses—
the complainant K.M. and her two friends, M.B. and H.D.—testified that, along with defendant,
they met at M.B.’s apartment in the City of Newport on the evening in question before driving to
a bar in the Tow... More...    $0 (03-02-2016 - VT)

Defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction of sexual assault,
in violation of 13 V.S.A. § 3252(a)(1). He contends: (1) the seating of two biased jurors
deprived him of his right to an impartial jury; (2) the trial court committed prejudicial error by
prohibiting him from using a prior conviction to impeach a witness; and (3) the prosecutor’s
comments during closing argum... More...    $0 (02-28-2016 - VT)

After the 2013 merger between American Airlines, Inc. and U.S. 23
Airways, four former Trans World Airlines (“TWA”) flight attendants, 24
now working for American Airlines, and Flight Attendants in Reunion 25
(“FAIR”), an unincorporated association formed to enforce the legal rights 26
of similarly situated flight attendants, filed this lawsuit.  In their amended 27
compla... More...    $0 (02-18-2016 - VT)

Defendant, Thomas Bryan, appeals from the criminal
division’s denial of his motion to withdraw counsel and order finding him in violation of his
probation. The critical question in this case is whether sexually touching a minor violates a
probation condition prohibiting violent or threatening behavior. We hold that defendant’s act
constitutes violent behavior and we affirm t... More...    $0 (02-13-2016 - VT)

Defendant challenges his sentence and a special condition of
probation imposed following a guilty plea for sexual assault of a minor. On appeal, defendant
argues that probation condition 43, which gives his probation officer unbridled authority over
where defendant lives and works, is overbroad, as well as that the trial court erred as a matter of
law in finding defendant woul... More...    $0 (02-13-2016 - VT)