[T]he Washington County Superior Court judge assigned to all three Act 46 lawsuits has flagged two potential conflicts of interest and asked the parties involved if they’d like to waive her disqualification from the case.
In a document filed with the court on Tuesday, Judge Mary Miles Teachout says that her daughter, Woden Teachout, is a school board member for Middlesex, one of the school districts appealing a forced merger under the consolidation law in one of three lawsuits filed against the state on the subject.
The judge also notes that her husband, Peter Teachout, a constitutional law professor at Vermont Law School, is working on an academic project with Paul Gillies, whose law firm is representing the Huntington school district in another Act 46 lawsuit.
The judge has asked the parties to weigh in by Jan. 11.
David Kelley, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the suit involving the Middlesex district, called Mary Miles Teachout “a good, capable judge” and said he had no problem with her presiding over the case.
“I don’t have any doubt that she can render an impartial decision,” he said. Kelley also implied such conflicts are hard to avoid in a such a small, rural state.
“Quite frankly, we live in Vermont,” he said.
It’s unknown at this point whether the state will waive Teachout’s disqualification. Ted Fisher, spokesperson for the Agency of Education, said the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
