True Vermont

Windsor County State’s Attorney Robert Sand gave Windsor lawyer Martha Davis, 61, a diversion program for possession of 2 1/2 pounds of marijuana and 32 small plants. This so outraged Gov. Douglas that he ordered the Vermont State Police, the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles to send their “significant” pot cases to either U.S. Attorneys or the Vermont Attorney General for prosecution. “We can’t have a situation in Vermont where in 13 other of our counties, possession is treated as the felony it is, and possibly result in jail time, and in another county someone gets a ‘get out of jail free’ card,” said Douglas.

Meanwhile, the police in Douglas’ hometown, Middlebury, have adopted a new policy (with the approval of the selectboard) to ignore the hordes of illegal immigrants from south of the border working and living on area farms. “If they’ve committed a crime, then let the chips fall where they may…Some guy that’s working on a farm here that minds his own business, he’s of no interest to us, ” said police chief Thomas Hanley. Apparently the Chief doesn’t consider numerous violations of federal law to be crimes.

Curiously, illegal entry is a misdemeanor, but transporting, concealing, harboring or shielding such illegal aliens from detection “knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law” is a felony. (See 8 USC §1324) Following the Governor’s theory, the Mexicans would be deported, but the farmers keeping them on their farms would go to jail. (The feds don’t have any diversion programs.) Douglas was worried about the message the diversion program for Ms. Davis would send to kids. If the intended message is that felons will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, without fear or favor, he can start right in his own back yard.