Vermont courts continue to struggle to address pandemic-era backlog

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The pandemic may be over but the Vermont Judiciary continues to struggle with a backlog of thousands of court cases, leaving victims and defendants stuck in legal limbo.

“In one way, you’re reliving it every time you have a hearing and then there’s also no closure,” said Missy Semprebon, who says she continues to relive the day her brother, David Auclair, was killed in Hinesburg.

Police say Auclair’s wife, Angela, did it, but her case is still going through the court process five years after the alleged murder. “I have not actually dealt with my grief at all. I am still focused on the results. I just keep going next step to next step, taking care of the people that are left behind,” Semprebon said.

Prompt case resolution is the goal, but a pandemic-era backlog on top of an existing backlog has created a bottleneck in the court system. The reopening of courthouses and a concerted effort to reduce the backlog have helped. Officials say the system is currently clearing 120 percent of the cases it takes on, meaning each month they are clearing more old cases than new ones, an improvement of 12 percent over the preceding year. Since December the overall backlog numbers have gone down in nearly all counties.

“It’s been really difficult. Honestly, it’s been a real challenge,” said Windsor County State’s Attorney Ward Goodenough. “It’s taken, I would say, a general effort to address this and a lot of people working together to do that. And a lot of the times we’re talking about imperfect solutions, and sometimes making really tough calls on cases that we’ve had to resolve.”

Goodenough says prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges, and other partners have put in a lot of overtime to come to agreements on old cases. “We are lucky that we’ve been able to cut our backlog, but the efforts to do that have not been efforts that we will be able to maintain and sustain long term without, again, additional burnout,” he said.

There is statewide progress too, including in Rutland County, which used to have one largest backlogs. “I believe we are on track to resolving the backlog here. That gives me a lot of hope that the criminal justice system will be functioning the way it should in the near future,” said Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan.

Nearly all judge vacancies were filled by Governor Scott last year. And the governor last week signed into law a measure that creates 30 new positions for the judiciary, which would allow for more jury draws.

“There’s been a big emphasis on scheduling as many jury draws and jury trials as possible. And that, particularly in the criminal docket, is where you see the most movement. When you have a jury draw scheduled, then you’ll see cases either go forward or settle,” said Vermont Court Administrator Teri Corsones.

After multiple years of a frustratingly slow court system, defense attorney David Sleigh says he also sees the light at the end of the tunnel. But for people still stuck in the court system, he says it remains frustrating. “Even without adjudication, your life, opportunities are severely limited, let alone just the constant living with the anxiety that you may at some point, you know, face some significant consequences. So, I think, you know, it’s very real,” he said.

Sleigh says while progress is being made, the process is still far too slow. Missy Semprebon agrees. “One step at a time. There’s no magic pill that’s going to make everything better. It’s just, you know, that eventually you’re going to get to the conclusion and that’s why we just keep stepping forward,” she said.

And it’s not just the judges and lawyers dealing with the legal logjam, but victims advocates too. We’ve learned that each one of them in Vermont is juggling around 600 cases.

Copyright 2024 WCAX. All rights reserved.