After a lengthy debate, the state Senate voted to confirm a former Orleans County prosecutor to the bench on Tuesday but in a highly unusual turn of events for a gubernatorial appointment, multiple senators voted in opposition. The 26-4 vote capped.
The 26-4 vote capped weeks of debate about Judge Jennifer Barrett, who served as state’s attorney in the Northeast Kingdom from 2015 until Scott appointed her to the bench last summer.
Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale told colleagues on the Senate floor Friday that she would vote no on Barrett’s confirmation unless the Legislature heard directly from those most affected by the criminal justice system.
Chief among the arguments made against Barrett largely by defense attorneys was that she was overly aggressive as a prosecutor and unlikely to handle cases in an impartial manner.
U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., returned to his old stomping grounds under the golden dome, offering dispatches from Washington to the state Senate’s Appropriations and Transportation committees, as well as the House Agriculture Committee.