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State's Attorneys and Sheriffs urge funding, cite caseload pressures and new legislative priorities
Summary
The Vermont Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs told the Senate Government Operations Committee the office has reduced backlogs but still faces high caseloads, transport staffing shortages and rising violent-case filings; they urged funding and legislative changes including firearm penalties, a state RICO law and DUI evidence updates.
Tim Lieters Dumont, executive director of the Vermont Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs, told the Senate Government Operations Committee on Jan. 8 that his office has made progress on an accountability docket pilot but continues to face staffing, transport and caseload pressures.
Dumont said the department converted nine limited-service positions to permanent roles and credited committee appropriations with avoiding layoffs. He reported a roughly 15% reduction in backlog over three years and said average attorney caseloads declined from about 375 to about 300, but noted statewide pending cases remain high—about 22,000—down from roughly 26,000 a few years ago.
Why it matters: prosecutors said the mix of filings—particularly drug-nexus and firearm-related cases—has driven recent increases in violent-case filings, creating pressure on court…
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