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Wright s death was one of the cases that spurred the attorneygeneral s office to seek a legislative remedy. Assistant Attorney General Linda Purdy, who investigated the case,said autopsy results stated Wright s primary cause of death wasnatural, but his conditions were complicated by the assaults. He died of both some cardiovascular problems and the secondarycause, which they couldn t really quantify, was the attack and theinjuries he sustained, Purdy said. The nursing home s attorney, Scott McGee, said that despite thetragic nature of the events, staff at the home were all doing theirjobs correctly. As far as we were concerned, all the right stepshad been taken, McGee said. In these kinds of things, peoplecan second-guess lots of steps. Everyone was working in goodfaith. Sorrell s office threatened a civil action against the nursinghome, but found they didn t have strong legal footing to do so. We wanted more clear legal authority to bring such a suit, hesaid. H.413 does exactly that, Sorrell said. Under the new law, the state may bring a civilaction of up to $50,000 against a nursing home or individualcaretaker where neglect, abuse or exploitation results in death andother actions for lesser amounts when the victim survives. H.535, Bias-free policing For the first time, local law enforcement will be required to adoptbias-free policing policies and to collect racial information fromroutine traffic stops. H.535 requires all Vermont law enforcement agencies to implement bias-free policing policies designed to deterpolice from racial discrimination. The policies would be based onVermont State Police guidelines and recommendations the AttorneyGeneral s office made to the state s 73 independent policingentities in 2010. About 30 municipal police and sheriffsdepartments have policies addressing racial discrimination. The growing disproportionate representation of blacks in prison hasraised questions about racial bias among law enforcement officialsand the court system. H.758, dissolution and divorce Gays from out of state who obtain civil unions or marriagecertificates from Vermont have had no way of dissolving that unionor divorcing in home states that didn t recognize their Vermontstatus. This bill makes it possible for couples to break up through a no-fault process based on mutualagreement. Previously under Vermont law, gay couples had to live in Vermontfor six months before they could get a divorce or dissolution. S.37, expungement of a nonviolent misdemeanor criminal record This bill creates a process for expunging the record of an arrest or conviction for many nonviolent misdemeanors. Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, says he supported the legislationbecause he heard from Vermonters who had been arrested andconvicted of minor crimes 20 to 30 years ago for possession ofsmall amounts of marijuana and other petty offenses but who hadn tbeen in trouble with the law for decades and wanted to apply tohave their records expunged. The bill provides a process for people to apply to state sattorney in the county where they were convicted, Sears said. If they are clean of any crime for 10 years or more … theycan apply to have the record expunged. The basic conditions? Ten years must have elapsed, any sentencemust have been completed, restitution paid or conditions met andthere can have been no subsequent criminal convictions. The finaldecision is at the discretion of the court. Certain offenses, such as sexual exploitation of children andviolation of a protection order, cannot be expunged. When the court decides in favor of removing the criminal record, itissues a certificate that must state that such person s behaviorafter the conviction has warranted the issuance of the order. TheFBI and all other agencies which have or might have the record arenotified. The statute requires that from the time the certificateis issued the person be treated in all respects as if he or shehad never been arrested, convicted or sentenced for the offense. S.203, child support enforcement According to a report from the Department of Children and Families, about 30 percent of court-ordered child support goes unpaid eachmonth. The state of Vermont has nearly $100 million in unpaid childsupport on the books. Under a new statute , parents who refuse to pay child support may be subject to civilcontempt. If the court finds the individual in contempt, he or shemay be required to search for work, participate in employment,educational, or training-related activities. If the individualfails to complete the court-ordered program, he or she may besubject to incarceration. Sears said, under the new provisions, the nonpaying parent holdsthe keys to jail cell — he or she can be released fromprison by paying up or complying with the court s recommendation. While the state can t hold someone in jail for lack of funds, itcan detain an individual for contempt of court. Though scofflaws wouldn t be held for long, Sears said it senough to grab some people s attention. The legislation softens requirements for parents who are willing tomake payments but who have been hurt by the economic downturn,Sears said. The bill also revises the options for calculating available incomein determining child support, and it makes it easier to get relieffrom a default child support order if the parent can show the courtused incorrect financial information in calculating income. S.122, human trafficking, prostitution provision If someone is convicted of prostitution and can show they have beena victim of human trafficking, the court can allow the individualto file a motion to vacate. Once the motion is granted, the victim s name is removed from allthe related court records. The victim need not have reported the crime of human trafficking tolaw enforcement before the arrest. Various protections are nowoffered to victims of human trafficking that parallel thoseprovided for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault andstalking, such as providing lists of counseling and shelterservices. State services will now be revised to meet the needs ofhuman trafficking victims. S.115, a bill barring ineffective assistance claims againstassigned counsel Some defendants have sought to hamper the criminal justice processby suing assigned defense attorneys who were in the middle oflitigating their cases, according to Defender General MatthewValerio. Valerio says S.115 bars defendants from inappropriatelymanipulating the system. Now you have to follow the normalprocess and get redress through courts before suing yourattorney, he said. It doesn t take away your rights to pursue a negligence case, itjust tells you what order it has to be done in and by doing that itprevents individuals who for the wrong reasons are attempting tomanipulate the criminal justice system, Valerio said. Valerio s office hires more than 50 lawyers a year to work oncontract with the state. These attorneys have to purchase their ownmalpractice insurance. There was a concern that the lawsuitsagainst some contract attorneys who are doing serious felony workwith the most difficult clients and getting a number of claimscould get to point where it would be difficult to obtainmalpractice insurance. Convicted criminals had been taking a page from Michael Brillon,who was sent to jail on a domestic violence charge and went throughsix assigned public defenders. His case went to the Vermont SupremeCourt, which ruled that his right to a speedy trial had beenhampered, and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court, where justices ruled that delay caused by the defense weighs against the defendant. H.751, juvenile delinquent custody This legislation allows 16- to 17-year olds who have committedminor crimes the option to stay in state custody and receiveservices for an additional six months. That additional time could make a difference for some kids, Searssaid. The bill also calls for a study to evaluate the success rateof the juvenile system. Editor's note: This story was updated between 5:15 a.m. and6:30 a.m. May 16. I am an expert from cylindrical-rollerbearings.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Slewing Ring Bearing Manufacturer , Successful Case, Precision Cylindrical Roller Bearing,and more.
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