[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6123402,"mediaKeyId","2689851-f565cb5d6ab96777938d3676b753d09f","parentId",2689851,"title","Committee reviews bill to let hate-crime enhancement apply when crime targets property or groups","audioSeconds",1860,"startMs",1864000,"endMs",3334,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2689851-f565cb5d6ab96777938d3676b753d09f&start=1864&end=3","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2689851-f565cb5d6ab96777938d3676b753d09f/thumbnail_1864000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6123402/Vermont/Committee-reviews-bill-to-let-hate-crime-enhancement-apply-when-crime-targets-property-or-groups","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6123402-2afbb1f3be596f55c55a3ffee1940bda/orig.mp4?Expires=1771080036&Signature=mgRvzy5LZMbxiKvRPBRnB26D9bC8vE0qS7rv1OojHe9xq8b9ayc5dEXP8cwXduPrTtY7dzP2HWQeBkM~nLmc-nQ~ISI59btqIDRH~mSPw7CBlBi6mOcu~hBImfHhwCB9GKz8hQUKd6gUakJsymsxBQziz0eDdmfFx6Yr2J5dNatUh8bs5Fs6-9uu4o0VPG1VrNUA0VEr-gn08jatqWF8DLcxy8f4k1MOQvWq4dxlfVKC54Pmi1990JNHlDkcND99XkpiERvsd7O6AUme-aWApCL5rdIVuQi3czr4rUn7B6KXLhD7LHUnYjAJUSGll5fTLOKSW6QAeeFV2dwFH4~xZA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Vermont Senate Committee on Judiciary","date","2025-03-19T14:02:35Z","article","Daniel Prodzinski, staff from the Office of Legislative Council, explained to the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 19 that a bill before the committee would expand the scope of Vermont's hate-crime enhancement to cover conduct motivated \"in whole or in part by another person's or group of person's actual or perceived membership in a protected category.\"

Prodzinski said the change does not create a standalone offense but operates as a sentencing enhancement for an underlying crime. Under the draft language he described, if the underlying offense carried a maximum penalty of one year or less, the enhancement could raise the possible sentence to up to two years or a fine of up to $2,000. For offenses carrying more than one year but less than five, the enhancement could raise the penalty to up to five years or a fine not more than $10,000. For crimes with maximum penalties of five years or more, the statute would require the court to consider bias motivation as a factor at sentencing.

Using an unlawful-mischief example, Prodzinski described how an act such as spray-painting a racist symbol that causes less than a statutory dollar threshold in property damage could be charged under the base offense and then receive an enhanced penalty if evidence showed animus. \"If there was evidence to support that that property damage was motivated at least in part by racial or religious animus,\" he said, \"the prosecutor can use the hate motivated crime statute to enhance that underlying penalty.\"

An official from the Attorney General's Office told the committee the office supports the bill. \"We stand behind this bill. We see this bill as an important expansion of the existing protections for...classes that are laid out in 14 55,\" the prosecutor said, adding the change would let prosecutors \"stand up for Vermont's values\" in cases where the direct victim is property or a third party.

Committee members raised hypotheticals about protests near a National Guard base and whether speech about policy versus animus toward a protected group could trigger an enhancement. Prodzinski and the AG's representative repeatedly said the enhancement would depend on the evidentiary record and intent; the draft calls for proof of motivation and a sentencing hearing rather than an automatic penalty.

Prosecutors and legal counsel told the committee the standard for applying the enhancement would be a preponderance of evidence at sentencing, and they emphasized that the amendment would not criminalize expressive conduct on its own but would enhance penalties for criminal acts shown to be bias-motivated.

The draft would also list protected categories and set an effective date of July 1 in the current year, according to the bill text presented to the committee. Committee members asked for more time to review the language and for the defender general to present concerns about free-speech and constitutional limits at a later date; no committee vote occurred during the hearing.

Clarifying provisions discussed during testimony included who counts as the \"victim\" for purposes of enhancement, evidentiary approaches prosecutors could use (for example, posts or statements), and the enhancement's operation as a sentencing factor rather than a standalone charge.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Judiciary - 2025-03-19 - 10:00 AM","oneSentenceSummary","Daniel Prodzinski, staff from the Office of Legislative Council, explained to the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 19 that a bill before the committee would expand the scope of Vermont's hate-crime enhancement to cover conduct motivated by animus toward a protected group even when the immediate victim is third-party property or an owner.","taxTitle","Judiciary, SENATE, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",47267,"location","Vermont","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6123408,"Expert tells Senate Judiciary that completing Vermont's Raise-the-Age rollout advances public safety",1652,199000,1851000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2689851-f565cb5d6ab96777938d3676b753d09f&start=199&end=1851","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2689851-f565cb5d6ab96777938d3676b753d09f/thumbnail_199000.jpg","/articles/6123408/Vermont/Expert-tells-Senate-Judiciary-that-completing-Vermonts-Raise-the-Age-rollout-advances-public-safety","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6123408-62a6baf1ca9bf158a040901524ddf5f6/orig.mp4?Expires=1771080036&Signature=BJGK3JSQaClIXS~OY2A8f2e7mrdIKJXrZWlNaRjkAtvdF~L8sgwoPwCswdsaYUHcyP3-h62L5Jydc65rlI7w7iaiJqWyarOOJVWpnDsBl0O5vSnTB7~SlwhO5sKgrYiOlzN5qL2LtLBuVpH~5ZoqvZLnTgD5Uf1IzidH53eBL~wpt3LEqxvk1ruR07qBFYUtXuHnziZlj~jKCjsetFtFLuC8R98H2IhnhF1b12wuNii8D9AJ8oy5wQ-PmmJHV7lETXKt0u-CiaCMEY7lF5RCw7cphJyl67cpGHkXyEP239l9ZxWpmmg4VmCpKG-6jXwO8XEIxG7bdvo9s2lDa7O5Xg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Whale Chester, a researcher at Columbia University, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 19 that Vermont is well positioned to move forward with the second phase of its Raise the Age reforms but must fix persistent data gaps and assign an agency to monitor implementation.

Chester said the \"goal of Raise the Age is public safety,\" and described research showing that 18- and 19-year-olds share developmental traits with younger adolescents that make adult-style punishment less effective and often counterproductive.

Chester summarized three research streams informing \"emerging adult justice\": neurobiology, developmental psychology and life-course criminology. She said emerging adults are more influenced by peers, more impulsive and more motivated by positive incentives than by the negative consequences emphasized in adult criminal courts. \"When young people are saddled with adult records, for example, they cannot achieve an education. They often cannot get housing. They often cannot get meaningful employment,\" she said.

Chester outlined the results Vermont has seen since the first phase began, saying 18-year-olds were moved into family court on July 1, 2020, and reporting declines in several measures. She told the committee that probation caseloads and custody placements have fallen and that \"FY 2022, there are only 6 youth that fit that category\" for pre-disposition custody in juvenile court. She cautioned that publicly available data stop at FY 2022 in the materials she cited and said more recent, regularly compiled statistics are not publicly accessible.

Chester urged the legislature to require clearer, aggregated Raise the Age reporting and to designate a single entity to collect data from DCF, the courts, state's attorneys and diversion programs. \"Vermont needs to create and maintain a data systems for ongoing data analysis and planning,\" she said, adding that the data should be aggregate and nonconfidential but delineated by age cohorts and outcome metrics such as filings, merits findings and diversion rates.

She also recommended designating an agency or group to monitor implementation so that responsibility does not fall across too many parties. Chester said Vermont's Department for Children and Families led an inclusive implementation process in 2018 that brought together stakeholders, including courts, defenders, prosecutors, victim groups and community organizations.

Committee members asked about harms from placing young people in the adult system and the racial disparities in outcomes. Chester said research and Vermont's earlier report show those placed in adult systems have higher recidivism and worse long-term outcomes and that nationally 18- and 19-year-olds have the most pronounced racial disparities of any age group.

Chester concluded that data problems should not hold up phase 2 implementation, because the available evidence shows positive trends and the state has a \"very solid foundation\" from which to proceed.

The committee took questions after the presentation; no vote or formal action on legislation occurred during the time she spoke.","A Columbia University researcher told the Senate Judiciary Committee that moving 18- and 19-year-olds into the family court system improves public safety, reduces custody and probation counts, and urged Vermont to fix data gaps and designate an agency to monitor implementation of Raise the Age phase 2.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee reviews bill to let hate-crime enhancement apply when crime targets property or groups

Expert tells Senate Judiciary that completing Vermont's Raise-the-Age rollout advances public safety