Gov. Phil Scott announced on Friday that he has appointed a defense lawyer and a prosecutor to fill two vacancies on the Vermont Superior Court.
Robert Katims, of Hinesburg, a longtime criminal defense attorney, and H. Dickson Corbett, of East Thetford, the Orange County state’s attorney, are Scott’s latest picks to serve on the court. The two attorneys are expected to be sworn in “in the coming weeks,” according to a Friday press release announcing the choices.
Katims has served as a defense counsel in several high profile-cases in Vermont, having practiced law in the state for more than 30 years.
In May 2022, Katims represented Erika Guttilla in a murder case where Guttilla and her mother were sentenced in the shooting death of Troy Ford, who the women said abused them.
Katims also served as lead attorney for Steven Bourgoin, who was convicted on five counts of second-degree murder after driving the wrong way on Interstate 89 in Williston, killing five teenagers when he crashed head-on into their vehicle in 2016.
Katims has been with the Burlington-based Hoff Curtis law firm since 1992, serving as a partner and managing partner, according to the press release. He was also a founding member and past president of the Vermont Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and a current member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He graduated from the University of Vermont and Vermont Law School.
Corbett has worked as a prosecutor in Orange County since 2013, previously having served as a law clerk and staff attorney with the Vermont Judiciary. In April 2021, Scott appointed Corbett as Orange County state’s attorney, a role to which Corbett was elected as an independent in 2022.
During his time practicing law in Vermont, Corbett has served on several state committees including the Vermont Advisory Committee on the Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Vermont Advisory Committee on the Rules of Family Procedure and the Vermont Model Criminal Jury Instruction Committee. Currently, he serves as chair of the Vermont Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence.
Corbett graduated from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and Vermont Law School, according to the governor’s announcement.
Appointing judges “is one of the most important responsibilities for any governor, and it’s critical to identify individuals who are fair, impartial, experienced and committed to the important role they play in our system,” Scott said in the release. “I’m confident Bob and Dickson possess these qualities and more and will serve Vermonters well on the Superior Court bench.”
