Governor Phil Scott Announces Establishment of Special Chittenden County Community Accountability Court to Address Backlog of Cases

Montpelier, Vt. - In response to increased concerns about quality of life crimes and disorder in Burlington, Governor Scott today announced the first steps, in coordination with many partners, to respond. Today's announcement is the first initiative of a multi-point plan that will be rolled out in the coming days.

After collaboration with the Judiciary, Defender General, Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriff's, the Chittenden County State's Attorney, Burlington City Officials, the Attorney General, law enforcement, human services providers, and more, the Governor will be appointing a Special Prosecutor to work within Chittenden County to assist in relieving the backlog of service-resistant repeat offender criminal cases, with an initial focus on individuals who have many open dockets and are awaiting trial.

The Judiciary will be appointing a dedicated judge for this near-term initiative.

"This is an important first step towards improving public safety in Burlington and enhancing public trust in our criminal justice system," said Governor Scott. "By surging resources over a 3-4-month period towards reducing the backlog, we can hold repeat offenders accountable, while also connecting people to the services they need."

"These additional resources for the Chittenden County Superior Court will help alleviate the backlog, ensure people receive a trial, and provide the kind of immediate follow up that is necessary for BPDs enforcement activities to be most effective," said Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak. "These resources were identified by both the City and the State as an area for possible support, and I am grateful to Governor Scott and his team for their work to bring this online. I also appreciate the Governor's willingness to discuss both immediate solutions like this one, as well as longer-term strategies to support Burlington in addressing the challenges facing our community and others across Vermont."

"The Judiciary supports the Governor's initiative to provide dedicated resources and services for cases pending in the Chittenden Criminal Division involving defendants with five or more open dockets." said Chief Justice Paul Reiber. "This initiative aligns with the Judiciary's ongoing efforts to address the backlog of cases, to support the timely resolution of cases, to promote appropriate outcomes, and to enhance public safety."

Defender General Matt Valerio is committed to allocating resources sufficient to address this new initiative.

"To truly address the crisis of backlogged cases and persistent, low-level crime, we need dedicated courtroom space for a rapid-intervention accountability court," said State's Attorney Sarah George. "We have 50 to 70 people in Chittenden County repeatedly causing harm to multiple victims-many struggling with substance use and mental health issues-who are not succeeding in existing diversion and deflection programs. When a handful of people are cycling through the system with multiple pending dockets, we must pivot from simply delaying accountability to providing quick, meaningful court interaction paired with necessary treatment. This intervention is critical to public safety and reducing the massive strain these cases place on our resources."

"I'm grateful for this collaboration and committed to supporting this initiative and the City of Burlington," said Attorney General Charity Clark.

"The data is clear: the surge in serious violent crime, including a nearly 170% increase in homicides over the last decade, is pushing every other case type to the back of the judicial line," said Tim Lueders-Dumont, director of the Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs. "Our courts and State's Attorneys are clearing cases at over a 100% rate, yet a staggering list of over 22,000 cases remain. Statewide, we know that over 44% of all pending dockets relate to persons with three or more pending cases. Establishing a rapid-intervention accountability court is a practical and necessary step to reduce the time between offense and consequence for repeat offenders-specifically for those 50-70 individuals who occupy an outsized amount of court time and law enforcement time in Chittenden County. Delayed accountability damages deterrence, and we must secure this space and time to deliver swift, fair justice."

The broader plan the Governor has offered to the City of Burlington, and which will be further detailed next week, is focused on near-term, immediate actions the State can take to help Burlington's situation, knowing that there are many medium-to-long term policy changes that are needed to address systemic causes.

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