In his almost three decades on the bench, Supreme Court Justice John Dooley was involved in some of the state’s most pivotal court cases, including decisions that led to civil unions and an equally ground-breaking education funding law, Act 60.
However, Dooley, appointed by Gov. Madeleine Kunin in 1987 in a time when the court was in crisis, said in this week’s edition of “Digger Dialogue” that it was the lower profile cases that often proved the most challenging.
“One of the things you learn from the inside that you folks don’t see so much on the outside is, it’s the cases that aren’t the ones that have big public interest in them that often are the more difficult ones to work out,” Dooley said in an interview in a Supreme Court conference room.
Dooley came on board at a time when the court was reeling from the Jane Wheel scandal, where three of the high court justices were accused of violating their judicial canons to help the controversial Chittenden County side judge. Just shy of 30 years, he is one of the three longest-serving judge in Vermont history.
Dooley, 72, recently announced he would not seek another six years on the bench when his term expires next March. Shortly after the VTDigger interview, Gov. Shumlin announced he would be selecting Dooley’s replacement before the governor leaves office in January.
In the interview, Dooley recalled the large crowd in the courtroom when the Baker case was argued, with spectators spilling out into the hallways. The decision, announced in December of 1999, called for same sex couples to have the same rights and marriage benefits as opposite sex couples, and led to the Legislature passing civil unions legislation.
He said he was surprised there haven’t been more challenges to the Supreme Court’s other high profile case, the 1997 Brigham decision, which called on the state to equalize the amount of money spent on students. In response, the Legislature passed a statewide property to equalize funding between property-rich and property-poor towns. Dooley spoke of the unusual process the five-member court used to speed up that decision.
The associate justice disputed claims that he and the court were activists and had only responded to the cases before them. He said his mentor and closest friend on the bench was former Chief Justice Fred Allen.
Dooley also spoke with some urgency about the growing opiod addiction problem and the impact the epidemic has had on the court system and in particular, on the children being taken from their homes.
He also reflected on his work with the Vermont-Karelia Rule of Law Project and the Russia-United States Legal Foundation.
What’s next? The justice said he had no particular plans but planned to stay active after he steps down from the bench.
