BRATTLEBORO — Prosecutors dismissed on Wednesday a criminal case that would have restarted Vermont’s yearlong frozen jury trials, with the Windham County State’s Attorney saying the decision was made to protect individual rights.
The state dismissed multiple felony and misdemeanor charges against Anthony Wilson, 44, of Brattleboro, on Wednesday morning — around the time his trial at the local state courthouse was scheduled to start. It would have been the first state jury trial since the coronavirus pandemic hit Vermont in March 2020.
Tracy Kelly Shriver, the Windham County State’s Attorney, said Wednesday that her office’s prosecutors have an obligation to ensure that each charge they file is supported by evidence obtained in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Constitution, the Vermont Constitution and state laws.
If prosecutors determine that any evidence supporting a charge was gathered in contravention of these requirements, she said they have an obligation not to proceed in order to protect individual rights.
“In the matter before the court for a jury trial this week, we discovered information which led me to conclude that proceeding with the scheduled trial was inconsistent with these obligations,” Shriver said in a news release Wednesday. “As a result, I decided that the charges against this individual required dismissal in the interests of justice.”
Her office dismissed Wilson’s six charges that encompassed drug trafficking, conspiracy and possession, as well as violating conditions of release from jail. The charges were dismissed with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled.
It’s unclear what information led to Shriver’s decision to dismiss the charges; she didn’t provide details, including how she learned the information. But she told the Banner and Reformer that she made the decision to dismiss Wilson’s case at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
It was the day after a jury had been selected to try the case — the first time a jury draw had been held since the Vermont Supreme Court suspended jury trials on March 17, 2020.
“Members of my office are very anxious to resume trials by jury as that process is the keystone of our criminal justice system,” Shriver said in her statement. “However, my office will not ever sacrifice the rights of one individual to the system.”
RESTARTING JURY TRIALS DURING PANDEMIC
Five other Windham County criminal cases had been part of this month’s trial pool. Though the trial arrangements were all in place — including the pandemic-related social distancing and additional courthouse cleaning service — another case could not just be brought in at the last minute to fill Wilson’s trial spot.
This week’s jury had been chosen specifically to try Wilson’s case, and the other cases have to hold their own jury draws, said Deputy State’s Attorney Steven Brown, who prosecuted Wilson.
When asked for comment about Wednesday’s case dismissal and canceled trial, state court officials said Shriver’s statement accurately lays down the State’s Attorney’s legal obligation. “The decision to dismiss appears to have been dictated by that obligation,” Vermont Chief Superior Judge Brian Grearson said.
Until the prosecution informed Superior Judge John Treadwell on Wednesday morning that it was dismissing Wilson’s charges, Grearson said the court fully expected his trial would move forward. “Talking with the trial judge, he felt the case was ready to go and he was as surprised as anyone that it was dismissed at that time,” Grearson said.
Although the state’s long-awaited trial restart didn’t push through in Windham County this week, Grearson said it doesn’t affect the jury trial plans of other counties. Eyes will next move to Windsor County, which is scheduled to hold a jury draw Thursday, May 20, and a trial on Monday.
Defense attorney John Pritchard, who represented Wilson, said he was pleased with the case dismissal and wished his client the best. He also acknowledged the judiciary’s and the local court staff’s work “to even make a jury trial possible, even if it did not go forward as planned.”
Meanwhile, Vermont’s neighboring states have already resumed jury trials after also freezing them at different points during the pandemic. New York resumed jury trials statewide in March, New Hampshire about a month ago, whereas Massachusetts allowed 12-person jury trials to resume in selected courthouses on May 1, according to the state courts’ respective spokeswomen.
The Windsor Superior Court-Criminal Division said its upcoming jury draw and jury trial will not be live-streamed, unlike those in Windham County this week. Members of the public who are interested in observing the proceedings can request access to the court’s online hearing platform by emailing jud.livestreamrequest@vermont.gov.
Article From & Read More ( Vermont's jury trial restart postponed after case is dismissed on trial day - Bennington Banner )https://ift.tt/3bEJ65L
Case
No comments:
Post a Comment