http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-24T11:10:50-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/public_defenders_suit_jacket_deflects_judges_objection_to_clients_t-shirt/ A public defender in Vermont handled an arraignment without his suit jacket Wednesday, after putting it on a client, backwards, to cover an offending T-shirt. Attorney Doug Willey took action after Caledonia Superior Court Judge Mary Miles Teachout told his client, Christopher Bryant, 28, that his arraignment in a domestic… Criminal Justice, Public Defenders, Criminal Procedure, Trials & Litigation, States, Vermont Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:52:06 -0500 43589.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/vermont_law_school_plans_to_downsize/ The field of health care has been transformed with more cost-effective treatment by nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and the legal field will follow with less work being done by lawyers, according to a law dean who is preparing for changes ahead by downsizing. Marc Mihaly, the dean and president… Law Professors, Law Schools, Law Students, States, Vermont Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:16:14 -0600 41769.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/court_funding/ State chief justices and court administrators met this week in Washington, D.C., to discuss policy priorities for the upcoming year and beyond. Many of them took time Thursday to join in or attend a panel discussion concerning best practices and methods for dealing with severe budgeting constraints. They heard plenty… Judiciary, States, Utah, Vermont Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:02:26 -0600 41658.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/top_vt._court_suspends_clientless_lawyer_says_pro_se_filings_show_he_could_/ The state's supreme court has suspended a Vermont lawyer on an interim basis, pending further disciplinary action, even though he apparently has no clients. Saying that William E. Simendinger has shown, through pro se filings and other conduct, that there is "a real and substantial threat of serious harm to… Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, States, Vermont Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:53:01 -0500 41408.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/defense_lawyer_seeks_dismissal_of_20_cases_says_prosecutor_not_properly_app/ A criminal defense attorney has filed a motion seeking the dismissal of 20 criminal cases, contending that the state lacks authority to prosecute the defendants because the Orleans County state's attorney was unlawfully appointed by the Vermont governor. Attorney David Sleigh says State's Attorney Alan Franklin does not hold a… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Election Law, Government Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Vermont Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:15:00 -0500 41174.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ice_cream_maker_ben_jerrys_wins_court_ban_on_lookalike_porn_films_peanut_bu/ It might seem unlikely that those who enjoy Ben & Jerry's gourmet ice cream would think the Vermont-based maker of trademarked flavors such as Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Peanut Butter Cup and Boston Cream Pie has anything to do with similar sounding porn flicks such as Chocolate Fudge Babes, Peanut Butter… Corporate Law, Intellectual Property Law, Trademark Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 2nd Circuit Court, States, California, New York, Vermont Fri, 07 Sep 2012 13:30:27 -0500 40602.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/breast-feeding_woman_booted_from_plane_wins_secret_delta_settlement_2_other/ A New Mexico woman who said she was ordered off a Delta Connections flight in Vermont in 2006 after she refused an offended flight attendant's demand to cover herself with an airline blanket has settled her civil rights case over the incident. According to Emily Gillette, who is now 32,… Aviation & Space Law, Civil Rights, Family Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 2nd Circuit Court, States, Vermont Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:25:27 -0500 37842.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/vermont_supreme_court_overturns_molestation_conviction_because_of_jurors_in/ A Somali Bantu immigrant who was convicted of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl will get a new trial because of a juror’s internet research about his culture. A trial judge had found the research didn’t affect the guilty verdict against Ali Abdi and wasn’t prejudicial, but the Vermont Supreme Court… Internet Law, Trials & Litigation, Juries, States, Vermont Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:28:52 -0600 37081.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/artist_defends_his_eat_more_kale_shirts_against_chick-fil-a_trademark_objec/ A Vermont folk artist who promotes local agriculture with the advice “eat more kale” on T-shirts and sweatshirts is fighting a demand by Chick-fil-A that he stop using the phrase. Bo Muller-Moore says he has twice heard from Chick-fil-A, which holds the trademark to the phrase "eat mor chikin,” the… Intellectual Property Law, Trademark Law, States, Vermont Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:54:26 -0600 36189.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/seven_years_after_his_murder_acquittal_vt._man_confesses_to_police/ A Vermont man acquitted seven years ago in a 2002 murder outside a pizza restaurant has called police and confessed to the crime. The acquitted defendant, Isaac Turnbaugh, called police last month in Randolph, Vt., and confessed to killing his co-worker outside the restaurant, report the Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, States, Vermont Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:23:22 -0500 34238.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/blind_law_grad_sues_to_win_permission_to_use_screenreader_software_on_multi/ Corrected: A blind student at Vermont Law School has filed a federal lawsuit against the National Conference of Bar Examiners, seeking permission to use the same screenreader software she relies on in her studies on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination. The NCBE and co-defendant Act Inc. offer a number of… Bar Associations, Careers, Bar Exam, Disability Law, Trials & Litigation, 1st Circuit Court, States, Vermont Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:09:04 -0500 33719.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/vermont_dui_convictions_may_be_in_jeopardy_amid_alleged_breathalyzer_errors/ Hundreds of Vermont DUI convictions are being challenged by defense lawyers, who claim there was a mistake in the breath analysis machine’s software setup. Whistler-blowers’ complaints about unethical lab work also figure in, the Associated Press reports. Human error resulted in one machine at the Royalton State… Criminal Justice, Criminal Procedure, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, Vermont Mon, 16 May 2011 10:58:33 -0500 32831.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/mummy_ct_scans_help_in_child_abuse_death_investigations/ New techniques developed for CT scans of a 2,700-year-old mummy are now being used to help determine the cause of death for young children. Dr. Jason Johnson, a radiology resident, arranged to put a mummy from a University of Vermont museum under a CT scanner to learn more about the… Criminal Justice, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, Vermont Wed, 27 Apr 2011 06:00:44 -0500 32513.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_student_sues_law_school_for_defamation/ A Vermont Law School student has sued the institution, an official there and another law student over the handling of a sexual assault and sexual harassment complaint in which he was exonerated by an internal code of conduct board. But Joshua Vaughan's disciplinary problems may not be over yet. In… Contracts, Law Schools, Law Students, Media & Communications Law, Tort Law, 2nd Circuit Court, States, Vermont Tue, 08 Feb 2011 15:18:09 -0600 30949.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_suspended_over_hit-and-run_for_which_he_initially_blamed_his_wife_an/ A Vermont lawyer who reportedly is a former traffic court judge caused an accident in September 2007 by braking abruptly after passing two bikers. Then he blamed the crash on his wife—falsely claiming that she had been the driver—and the "road raged" bikers for the fact that he didn't stop… Administrative Law, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Legal Ethics, Tort Law, Injury & Accident Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Vermont Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:26:06 -0600 30165.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/vermont_lawyer_criticized_for_lifting_language_from_utility_filing/ The top lawyer for the Vermont Public Service Department is being criticized for copying long passages from utility company documents for her own filing with the Public Service Board. More than two pages of the six-page motion for summary judgment filed by government lawyer Sarah Hofmann were “word-for-word identical” to… Energy Law, Legal Ethics, States, Vermont Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:53:42 -0500 27259.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/drew_u_sued_accused_of_purloining_poetry_program_students/ A federal judge in New Hampshire has given the green light to a lawsuit accusing New Jersey's Drew University of stealing a competing college's graduate-level poetry program and many of its students. Poet Anne Marie Macari created the Drew program while serving for less than a year as interim director… Contracts, Corporate Law, Trials & Litigation, 1st Circuit Court, 3rd Circuit Court, States, New Hampshire, Vermont Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:39:13 -0500 22845.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/pillow_fight_organizer_in_vt._faces_disorderly_conduct_charge/ Some 50 individuals briefly pummeled each other with pillows in a staged—and videotaped—event in Burlington, Vt., on Friday. But only 21-year-old Darin Cassler has been criminally charged over the incident, apparently because he allegedly blew a whistle that signaled those involved in the fluffy and apparently good-natured free-for-all to start… Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, Government Law, Internet Law, Media & Communications Law, States, Vermont Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:31:57 -0500 19191.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/suits_filed_against_peanut_corp._fda_says_plant_tests_showed_contamination/ The Georgia peanut plant linked to an outbreak of salmonella sold its products despite a dozen internal tests over the last two years that indicated contamination with the disease, according to officials of the Food and Drug Administration. Michael Rogers, director of field investigations at the FDA, told reporters yesterday… Administrative Law, Health Law, Tort Law, Injury & Accident Law, Product Liability Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Minnesota, Vermont Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:09:16 -0600 17311.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-judge_suspended_after_pot_bust/ A former family court judge in Vermont has been suspended from law practice for three months as a result of a pot bust at her home. Officials found more than two pounds of marijuana at the Windsor home of part-time Judge Martha Davis last year, the Rutland… Criminal Justice, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, States, Vermont Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:28:41 -0600 16370.abajournal.com