[R]UTLAND – A criminal case that prompted changes to the state’s gun laws moved behind closed doors Thursday.
That’s where a hearing took place to determine whether the case against Jack Sawyer, accused earlier this year of plotting to shoot up his former high school in Fair Haven, should be moved out of adult criminal court.
Attorneys in the case entered Rutland County Superior Family Court at around 10 a.m Thursday and emerged about 20 minutes later.
Both Sawyer’s attorney and the prosecutor said outside the courtroom they couldn’t comment on the matter, citing state law regarding such proceedings.
They also couldn’t confirm that the hearing even involved Sawyer, who recently turned 19, or was related to the bid by his attorney to have him treated as a “youthful offender” under a new law.
A calendar posted outside the courtroom listed only the initials “JS,” as well as the names of the attorneys involved in the case.
Among those seated outside the courtroom while the proceeding took place inside was Brooke Olsen-Farrell, superintendent of the Addison-Rutland Supervisory Union, which oversees the Fair Haven Union High School, and Scott Alkinburgh, who has served as the school’s resource officer.
Asked outside the courtroom after the hearing if he any comment after the hearing, Marshall Pahl, a public defender representing Sawyer, responded, “Nope.”
Rutland County State’s Attorney Rose Kennedy, who is prosecuting Sawyer, said state statute “precludes” her from commenting.
Signs on the door leading to the courtroom stated, “Do not enter,” and “Confidential hearings in progress.”
It did not appear Sawyer attended the hearing as he wasn’t seen entering the courtroom through the public entrance. There is another entrance from inside the courtroom that can be used by people in custody.
However, Sawyer was freed in April on $10,000 bail posted by father, David Sawyer of Poultney. Following his release on bail, Sawyer was taken to the Brattleboro Retreat for mental health treatment.
It’s unclear if he is still receiving care at the Retreat or residing with his father in Poultney.
In February, Sawyer was charged with three counts of attempted murder, charges that were later dropped by the prosecutor following a Vermont Supreme Court decision stating that mere planning did not rise to the level of an attempt under state law.
The only charges that remain pending against Sawyer are both misdemeanors: criminal threatening and carrying a dangerous weapon with the avowed purpose to commit serious injury or death.
He has pleaded not guilty to both offenses, which together carry up to three years in prison.
In July, his public defenders filed a motion seeking to have those two misdemeanor charges transferred to the family court for a “youthful offender” determination.
Under the law, once that request is made the case must be transferred and all proceedings regarding the granting or denial of the youthful offender status take place in family court behind closed doors.
If the judge grants that status, the entirety of the case would play out behind closed doors in family court. It’s unclear if Judge Cortland Corsones, who was listed on docket as presiding over the close-door hearing Thursday, issued any decision.
Kennedy, the prosecutor, has previously said she would argue against transferring the case to family court.
Sawyer’s attorneys, citing the law which prevents them from discussing cases involving juvenile proceedings, have said they can’t comment on the matter.
The Legislature passed the youthful offender law in 2016, with the expansion of who is eligible for youthful offender status taking effect July 1, 2018.
Under the law, criminal defendants up to age 21 not charged with certain serious crimes are eligible to apply for youth offender status. Sawyer was 18 when he was arrested in February.
With the serious felonies he faced now dismissed, Sawyer only faces those two misdemeanor offenses.
Youthful offender status puts the case on a rehabilitation-focused track previously only available to defendants under age 18.
The expansion of the eligibility for youthful offender status was part of a large piece of legislation that revised how young people are treated in the criminal justice system.
Gov. Phil Scott cited the Sawyer case as he signed three bills in April changing the state’s gun laws.
Scott, a Republican, has said the chilling details in a police affidavit in support of Sawyer’s arrest prompted him to shift his stance on the need for the added gun restrictions.
Sawyer was arrested just days after a mass shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 students and teachers dead.
Rebecca Kelley, the governor’s spokesperson, could not immediately be reached Thursday for comment on the Sawyer case.
