The Vermont Senate postponed taking action on Judge Jennifer Barrett’s confirmation on Friday after a lawmaker asked to pause the process until more Black Vermonters could weigh in.
Senate confirmations are usually pro-forma affairs, but Barrett, a former Orleans County prosecutor, has faced unusual opposition following her nomination to the bench last August. The process was first slowed when the Senate Judiciary Committee held multiple hearings to accommodate testimony from Barrett’s detractors and supporters. It again stumbled Friday when the Senate decided to delay what would have been a final up-or-down vote.
Chief among the arguments made against Barrett — largely by defense attorneys — was that she was overzealous as a prosecutor and would be unlikely to handle cases in an impartial manner as a judge. And, more controversially, they pointed to her public defense of her husband, a former state trooper fired for a pattern of improper searches, usually of Black men.
But Barrett also had staunch allies, several of whom in particular praised her support for victims of domestic violence. The Senate Judiciary Committee ultimately voted unanimously last week to endorse her confirmation.
Some Democrats on the panel said at the time that while they did not share Barrett’s tough-on-crime judicial philosophy, they had not seen evidence that she was unqualified or that she had done anything improper. And some also expressed particular discomfort with the idea that she should be held accountable for her husband’s actions.
But Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D/P-Chittenden Southeast, rose on the floor Friday to tell her colleagues that unless the Legislature’s social equity caucus had a chance to work with Black men to send their feedback to the full body, she would have no choice but to vote no.
“Those who are most affected — are deeply, deeply affected by a criminal justice system that has over-criminalized them, has pulled them over at higher rates, has incarcerated them at much higher rates than other Vermonters — were not heard in the process,” she said.
After a brief recess, during which Ram Hinsdale and several Senate leaders gathered in the well of the chamber for a spirited discussion, lawmakers agreed to Ram Hinsdale’s request and voted to reschedule Barrett’s confirmation for Tuesday, when the Senate is scheduled to reconvene.
The Judiciary Committee does not expect to hold further hearings, but Ram Hinsdale said in an interview that she would send letters directly to the full body over the holiday weekend.
Barrett served as state’s attorney in the Northeast Kingdom from 2015 until Gov. Phil Scott appointed her to the bench last summer. Because the Legislature was not in session at the time, Barrett has already begun her service as a judge, presiding over Windham Family Court in Brattleboro.
Scott has stood by his nominee, and his office reiterated the governor’s continued support on Friday.
“Judge Barrett was forwarded to the Governor as a ‘well qualified’ candidate by the Judicial Nominating Board, has the unanimous support [of] the Orleans County legislative delegation, was unanimously recommended for confirmation by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and is widely respected in her community,” Jason Maulucci, Scott’s press secretary, wrote in an email. “She has already served well in her role as a judge, and the Governor is confident she will continue to do so.”
Barrett did not respond to an email requesting comment on Friday afternoon.
