Left Unsaid

By Andrew Delaney

State v. Hammond, 2012 VT 48

Move along, folks.  This one is strictly for the criminal bar.  It is also graphic; so keep the kids away.

The facts are as follow.  Along with other family members, Defendant lived with his Stepdaughter.  One day, when Stepdaughter was an 18-year-old high school student, she and Defendant were home together.  No one else was there.  Stepdaughter had run a cross-country race and her legs hurt.  Defendant offered a leg massage.

Olly Olly Oxen Free

By Daniel Richardson

Olio v. Olio, 2012 VT 44.

We forget in the midst of the hyperbole of modern life that there are some arguments, some tools, some procedures that are off-limits to everyday use. 

For all the talk of “nuclear options” that float around in our rhetoric, it would seem that few of us appreciate the idea that some power is only to be used in case of emergency. 

The law, however, has many such tools entrenched in its case law and procedural rules.  The phrase “extraordinary relief” means just that—remedies in case of emergency. 

History Repeats Itself

The most notorious trial in Vermont judicial history is State v. Boorn (1819). 

It is notorious because the murder victim, Russell Colvin, walked back into town exactly one month before Defendant Stephen Boorn was scheduled to be hung for killing him.  

Mixed Motives

By Daniel Richardson

Lamay v. State of Vermont, 2012 VT 49 (mem.).

Once again, today’s case brings us to the well of employment law, and the procedural and factual tangle that this area encompasses.

Today’s case is a discrimination claim, which follows one of two formats.  When an employee is terminated and claims that she was terminated for an inappropriate, discriminatory reason, the case follows one of two formats.

It’s Too Late, Baby

By Daniel Richardson

Beebe v. Eisemann., 2012 VT 40 (mem.).

Attorneys are notorious for missing deadlines.  Discovery responses that are due at the end of the month get extended through the summer.  That appellate brief due on the Ides of March is eventually filed by Cinco de Mayo.  A motion for summary judgment promised for the client is knocked back in lieu of more discovery.

But there is one deadline that is inflexible, unbending, and causes litigators to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold, cold sweat.