Vermont Attorney General
My Record
I am proud of many accomplishments. And no small amount of the credit for these should go to the competent, dedicated people I have worked with over the years.
Criminal Law
As a criminal prosecutor, I personally successfully tried many cases before Vermont juries. Among the trials I had was the first case in which DNA evidence was permitted to be introduced in a Vermont state court. State v. Streich, was the case and it received national media attention. I also prosecuted what was then an approximately ten year old missing person’s case. I brought a murder charge against the former boyfriend of the Milton School District teacher who had disappeared. The case was particularly unusual since the victim’s body had not been found. The defendant, Francis Malinosky, was arrested in California, preliminarily avowed his innocence, but ultimately led police to the victim’s body, pled to a manslaughter charge and was imprisoned for a number of years.
From my days as the Chittenden County State’s Attorney, I am perhaps most proud of my role in the creation of the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations (CUSI), a nationally-recognized county wide collection of specially trained police officers, victims’ advocates and other professionals, specializing in sex crimes and severe cases of child abuse. Vermont now is in the process of creating similar regional SIUs in all sections of the state.
From my days as the Chittenden County State’s Attorney, I am perhaps most proud of my role in the creation of the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations (CUSI), a nationally-recognized county wide collection of specially trained police officers, victims’ advocates and other professionals, specializing in sex crimes and severe cases of child abuse. Vermont now is in the process of creating similar regional SIUs in all sections of the state.
As Attorney General, only a matter of weeks after taking office, I filed suit against the country’s largest tobacco companies for lying about the addictive qualities of cigarettes, marketing to children and causing the expenditure of millions of dollars of Vermont taxpayer money each year to treat tobacco-related illnesses. The settlement of the case has resulted in payments of approximately $300 million to the state and these payments of approximately $25 million per year are to continue forever.
The settlement of the case has not been the end of my efforts to combat this industry which is responsible for the greatest avoidable public health problems facing our state and the country. We successfully halted the inclusion of cigarette advertising in national news magazines sent to Vermont school children. Thus far we have prevailed against RJ Reynolds in a closely-watched Vermont lawsuit attacking the marketing of the company’s so-called “reduced risk” cigarettes.
Outside the tobacco arena, my leadership in efforts to protect the privacy of Vermonters’ financial records has led to my testimony before the US Senate and the enactment of statutory protections in Vermont and the federal law. My office has aggressively attacked illegal behavior on the part of numerous pharmaceutical companies both as to anti-competitive behaviros and their marketing campaigns. Millions of dollars have come back to Vermont from the settlements of these and other consumer protection claims.
The settlement of the case has not been the end of my efforts to combat this industry which is responsible for the greatest avoidable public health problems facing our state and the country. We successfully halted the inclusion of cigarette advertising in national news magazines sent to Vermont school children. Thus far we have prevailed against RJ Reynolds in a closely-watched Vermont lawsuit attacking the marketing of the company’s so-called “reduced risk” cigarettes.
Outside the tobacco arena, my leadership in efforts to protect the privacy of Vermonters’ financial records has led to my testimony before the US Senate and the enactment of statutory protections in Vermont and the federal law. My office has aggressively attacked illegal behavior on the part of numerous pharmaceutical companies both as to anti-competitive behaviros and their marketing campaigns. Millions of dollars have come back to Vermont from the settlements of these and other consumer protection claims.
Public Health
Throughout my term as AG, I have strived to make for a healthier and safer Vermont. I have been the driving force behind an initiative to improve our end-of-life care, and aggressive, appropriate pain management for those suffering from disease and other physical conditions. Another such initiative focused on the health problems associated with lead in our environment and in consumer products. We are now aggressively working with landlords and filing suit, if necessary, to reduce the amount of lead paint in our older rental housing all across the state.
I could go on and on mentioning many other cases and examples of my work and the work of the office under me. But perhaps my accomplishments can best be reflected in my recognition by the Vermont Medical Society as its 2009 Citizen of the Year.
During the awards ceremony, I was described as “a giant killer” for my longstanding willingness to take on powerful interests when the wellbeing of Vermont and Vermonters has been at stake.
I could go on and on mentioning many other cases and examples of my work and the work of the office under me. But perhaps my accomplishments can best be reflected in my recognition by the Vermont Medical Society as its 2009 Citizen of the Year.
During the awards ceremony, I was described as “a giant killer” for my longstanding willingness to take on powerful interests when the wellbeing of Vermont and Vermonters has been at stake.
My Criminal Division in the Attorney General’s Office is a group of top flight prosecutors, picked from the ranks of public defenders, county prosecutors and private practitioners. We have aggressively and successfully prosecuted cases all over the state, including some of the state’s most high profile murder cases, multiple victim sexual assault cases, infant abuse deaths, drug diversion by health care workers and official corruption by elected officials. We are now being nationally recognized for the filing of charges against slaughter house employees for their alleged inhumane treatment of very young calves.
Consumer Protection
Criminal Division of the Attorney General
Although in a small state, the Vermont AGO has been a leader in national anti-pollution efforts. We joined litigation against American Electric Power, a major contributor to our acid rain problems in this state and in other areas of the Northeast. The settlement of that case is the largest settlement of an environmental pollution case in the nation’s history and, when fully implemented, will have a dramatically positive effect on our air and water quality.
We fought International Paper Company’s plans to burn tires at its NY plant and the consequent fouling of our air. Vermont was among the states and repeatedly fought Bush Administration EPA efforts to water down national environmental protections.
We have successfully prosecuted individuals and companies for dumping toxins into our streams and upon our lands. And our federal court defense of the so-called “California Standard” of lesser emissions from automobiles was the first trial in the nation of the related cases brought by the auto industry. The verdict in our favor was a huge victory of national import for those concerned about global warming and the fuel economy of our motor vehicles.
We fought International Paper Company’s plans to burn tires at its NY plant and the consequent fouling of our air. Vermont was among the states and repeatedly fought Bush Administration EPA efforts to water down national environmental protections.
We have successfully prosecuted individuals and companies for dumping toxins into our streams and upon our lands. And our federal court defense of the so-called “California Standard” of lesser emissions from automobiles was the first trial in the nation of the related cases brought by the auto industry. The verdict in our favor was a huge victory of national import for those concerned about global warming and the fuel economy of our motor vehicles.