County prosecutor candidates from around the state squared off and criticized their opponents in a debate on Thursday where four out of five incumbents didn’t show.
Issues included various criminal justice reform topics including racial bias, opioid addiction and out-of-state incarceration. The forum, co-hosted by the ACLU of Vermont and the Center for Justice Reform at Vermont Law School, took place at the college in South Royalton and was live streamed.
Vermont has five contested elections for state’s attorney in Addison, Bennington, Essex, Lamoille and Orleans counties. Of the 11 candidates in contested races six were present, with five of the incumbents absent.
Eight of the 14 incumbent prosecutors drew criticism when they issued a “collective” response to an ACLU candidates survey in June. The candidates say the decision was a result of time constraints and the “presumptive” nature of some of the questions.
Robert Sand, director of Vermont Law School’s Center for Justice Reform, moderated the discussion.
Lamoille County
Voters had the chance to hear from all three candidates for Lamoille County, where Democratic State’s Attorney Paul Finnerty is seeking re-election.
Finnerty, a graduate of Vermont Law School, was first elected four years ago in the county and previously worked as a deputy state’s attorney in both Chittenden and Washington counties. He also has experience working for a private law firm, and said he wants to continue creating a more criminal justice-oriented system.
“What I’ve done in Lamoille County over the past four years is to look at each case individually, try to get a sense of the history of the person and where they are in the life,” he said.
Todd Shove, of Wolcott, is challenging Finnerty in the Democratic primary.
Shove, currently a deputy state’s attorney in Orleans County, worked as a deputy for Joel Page in Lamoille County and briefly spent time in a private practice focusing on civil litigation.
He said he’s been encouraged to run by local law enforcement who “don’t feel their work is being valued” and would like a change in prosecutors.
Republican Betsy Anderson will be opposing the primary winner in the general election. The Stowe resident is currently an assistant attorney general in the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, a position she has held since 2016.
Anderson began her career as an assistant district attorney in Nassau County, New York, where she was part of the street narcotics and gangs unit, and handling prosecution of MS-13 gang members.
“We deserve a state’s attorney who will view law enforcement as a partner, partners with the goals of making the county we love safer,” she said.
Bennington County
Other challengers attacked the incumbent in their county for not being present at the forum.
Arnold Gottlieb, who is challenging Bennington State’s Attorney Erica Marthage, began by apologizing to residents for her absence, saying Marthage was depriving them of seeing “crucial differences.”
Bennington County challenger Arnold Gottlieb. File photo by Holly Pelczynski/Bennington Banner
Gottlieb, of Dorset, is a private practice attorney who has been critical of Marthage for not agreeing to participate in debates hosted by groups or organizations. Marthage claims that several of the groups proposing forums “clearly” favor Gottlieb’s campaign.
Gottlieb said there needs to be a major change in the culture and philosophy of the office. He wants to establish a drug court, diversion programs and other alternative forms of sentencing.
“For too long, the Bennington County state’s attorney’s office has been run under what I believe a decades old philosophy of simply filling charges and sending folks to prison,” Gottlieb said.
Marthage did not return a call seeking comment Friday.
Essex County
Amy Davis, a St. Johnsbury attorney, is challenging incumbent Vince Illuzzi in the Essex County Republican primary.
Davis is in private practice and is a 2015 graduate of Vermont Law School. She said she is running to focus on juvenile cases that are not being investigated, and a “severe” lack of resources.
She attacked Illuzzi, claiming the state “pays him to keep his law firm running” and that he spends most of his time lobbying for private interests in Montpelier during the legislative session.
“Essex County has hired somebody who does not want to do this job, who doesn’t have the energy to do this job,” Davis said. “Essex County can and must do better.”
Illuzzi, who said he was too busy with cases to attend, fired back in an interview on Friday.
“[Davis] has no experience. She’s never had a criminal case in Essex County in her entire career and practices family law,” Illuzzi said. “It’s very hard for her to accurately judge, other than making campaign allegations.”
The Derby resident said defense attorneys will attest to his hard work and commitment to the job.
Illuzzi said he believes criminal law can often be used to force people to help themselves, the approach he generally takes.
“I still am of the belief that most people who enter the court system are good people who have made a mistake,” he said. “I try to have my sentencing recommendations reflect that approach.”
Orleans County
Garrett Cornelius, a lifelong Northeast Kingdom resident, kept his opening statement brief, and comments focused on his own platform.
“I am not a lawyer, nor do I aspire to be one, but I am energetic and excited to show the voters in Orleans County that I can fulfill the duties and obligations of the state’s attorney better than a lawyer can,” he said at the debate’s start.
Cornelius recently represented himself in front of the Vermont Supreme Court. He has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Barton Chronicle, contending that the paper should not have run a front page story citing a law enforcement communication describing Cornelius and his brother as “a possible threat.”
The incumbent for Orleans County, Republican Jennifer Barrett, is on vacation this week, according to a staff member at her office.
Candidate Q&A
Sand, the moderator, asked the Lamoille County candidates what criminal justice problems they believe to be most pressing in that district, and their plans to address those issues.
Anderson said she would like to bring a treatment court to the county to address opioid addiction, and ensure that treatment is accessible to those who want it.
Shove said the biggest problem in Lamoille is operation of vehicles under the influence of alcohol. He also raised concerns around opiates, and said he wants to see more officers receive drug recognition training and certification.
Shove also brought up domestic violence.
“I think the victims in Lamoille County because of its rural nature are fairly isolated, it can be difficult for them to reach out and get services to get help with their situations,” he said.
Finnerty said he would like to explore the idea of a family treatment court to better integrate addiction-related family issues into the justice system. He said current treatment program have been highly successful and plans to continue those initiatives.
Candidates were then asked for their stance on Vermont’s use of out-of-state correctional facilities.
Gottlieb said the state “doesn’t get a free pass” when it comes to incarcerating people, and mentioned an article from Seven Days that said that Bennington County locks up more people per capita than any other jurisdiction in Vermont. He said the long-term issue is the development of a drug court.
Davis said she doesn’t support sending inmates out of state, adding that consequences include limiting interaction with children.
“We need to look at all the various types of supervised releases so an offender can be rehabilitated into the community,” she said.
Cornelius made clear he does not support the concept of building a new state prison. He said Orleans County’s restorative justice center is “practically a ghost town” and needs to be used earlier and more frequently in cases.
Finnerty said some people need to be incarcerated as a risk, but thinks the state might be able to pass a compassionate furlough program which would reduce inmate numbers.
Shove wants to see fewer prisoners being sent out of Vermont. He said keeping inmates in the state would put tax dollars towards funding Vermont corrections jobs.
Anderson noted that most people have committed serious crimes, but said she thinks it would be good to bring individuals back.
Candidates’ responses differed when Sand asked them what they would do to address racial bias.
Cornelius said people need to be sensitive to racial differences. He said the state has a bias problem, and he would take any cases with potential influence seriously.
Anderson said implicit bias can affect everyone, and thinks state police training could be helpful for prosecutors. If elected, Anderson said she would conduct a historical case review to see if minority defendants have been treated unfairly.
Shove said he might prevent cases from going forward if he believes there is bias.
Finnerty said he decides on cases on a “race and gender neutral” basis. He acknowledges the existence of bias in the justice system but doesn’t think it has affected any of his decisions.
Davis said she is pleased with the additional training for state police, and has wondered whether past clients have been targeted for past crimes because of their race, given the influence of an individual’s criminal history in the court system.
“I think we as prosecutors have a responsibility to not just rely on the defense to hold us accountable, but to ensure that every individual is given a fair trial,” Davis said.
Gottlieb agrees that there is both implicit and explicit bias. He said it’s not hard to avoid bias as a prosecutor if you look at cases with race aside, putting the problem’s blame on law enforcement.
Lamoille County candidates were also asked how they plan to ensure a fair and consistent approach to plea offering, and if they would publicly announce their adopted approach.
Shove said any plea will be handled based on the case or circumstances.
“I’m not going to announce any particular system that I’m going to apply as state’s attorney,” he said. “I’m going to try to be as consistent as possible, but you’ve really got to look at the facts of every single case when you’re making offers to resolve.”
Anderson said every case is different, however she would create guidelines for low-level cases, such as driving with a suspended license. She said she would not do that for more complex cases with too many factors at play. Anderson said she plans to explain her guidelines publicly.
Finnerty plans to maintain his current approach of treating every case differently based on the specifics.
Neither candidate for Addison County was present at the debate. Dennis Wygmans, a Democrat, said he had a work-related conflict that prevented him from attending. Challenger Peter Bevere, an independent, said he had a prior personal commitment.
