Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC solve complex legal problems, whether in the courtroom, the business world or the State House. With more than 75 attorneys and legal professionals, we provide the focused attention of individual lawyers and the depth of interdisciplinary practice groups. We are Vermont's largest law firm, with more than 50 years of service to clients in the northeast and around the world. ^popular Click here to read more.

Chittenden Superior Court is the largest civil court in Vermont with an annual caseload of over 3300 civil cases, 1600 of which are Small Claims involving damages of $3,500 or less. The Court hears predominantly civil cases which involves the private rights of individuals and organizations. Chittenden, like all other counties in Vermont, has two elected Assistant Judges who are responsible for County affairs in addition to their court responsibilities. Chittenden Superior Court also handles all passport processing for Chittenden County and houses Probate Court which is responsible for wills, settlement of estates, adoptions, guardianships, name changes and uniform gifts to minors. ^popular Click here to read more.

Police in Burlington are looking for a man accused of molesting two women. Police say he groped a woman on upper Pine Street this morning and minutes later grabbed a woman in the lady's room of a downtown business. Police are looking for a white man in his twenties, 5'5" to 5'7", 130-160 lbs. Anyone with information should contact the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations at 652-6802. -- end -- ^popular Click here to read more.

Bauer, Anderson & Gravel is A Full Service Law Firm offering Banking Law, Bankruptcy, Business, Collections, Commercial Real Estate, Family Law, Municipal Law, Personal Injury, Residential Real Estate, Wills & Probate, and Workers Compensation Claims. The firm is able to deliver rapid results with an extensive library comprised of hard cover books, electronic research and the Internet. The firm takes pride in the staff it has working in all its offices. Our staff is friendly, efficient and available to work with our clients as well as the attorneys. ^popular Click here to read more.

Burak Anderson & Melloni PLC is a premier full service law firm based in Burlington, Vermont. The firm serves a broad spectrum of clients in matters relating to antitrust and trade regulation, banking and finance, corporate and business transactions, environmental and land use law, employment law, hospitality law, intellectual property law, international and immigration law, municipal law, real estate and development law, utility and energy law, and all aspects of commercial litigation. ^popular Click here to read more.

Hoff, Curtis, Pacht, Cassidy, Frame, Somers & Katims, P. C. is a leading Vermont law firm with a regional practice centered on litigation and alternative dispute resolution. The Firm is "A" rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is listed in its Directory of Preeminent Law Firms. The 9-lawyer Firm combines the specialized knowledge and experience common to large firms with the personalized attention and concern for efficiency and value usually associated with small and individual practices. Together, its lawyers have over 100 years of combined professional experience. The Firm began its practice on September 1, 1989, when former Vermont Governor Philip Hoff and his colleagues Richard Cassidy and Julie Frame, left their previous firm to merge with the law firm of former Vermont Defender General David Curtis and his law partner, John Pacht. The Firm's main offices are located at 100 Main Street in Burlington, ^popular Click here to read more.

Murdoch & Hughes Adoption Legal Services can provide legal representation to birth parents or adoptive parents in Vermont and the Plattsburgh, NY area. ... Adoption is a wonderful option for expanding your family, but the laws governing the process are quite complex. ^popular Click here to read more.

Law Office of Todd D. Schlossberg is An experienced Vermont trial lawyer representing injured individuals and their families in auto accident, personal injury, defective products, malpractice, insurance coverage, employment and consumer law cases." If you have been injured as a result of someone else's negligence, you deserve full compensation. But winning a personal injury case is not a matter of luck: Winning takes skill, concentration, and commitment. I will fight to protect your legal rights, to maximize your monetary recovery in the least time possible. I represent only injured individuals and their families in personal injury cases. I do not represent insurance companies. I am committed to fighting for your rights. I handle most injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you don't pay any attorneys fees unless I win a settlement or a judgment on your behalf. ^popular Click here to read more.

Murdoch & Hughes is a small, well-established and respected firm with over 50 years of combined legal experience in the areas of family law, criminal defense, adoption and personal injury. We are located in the heart of Burlington's downtown at 131 Main Street (the intersection of Main Street and St. Paul Street) in the Historic Vermont House, formerly known as the "Hotel Vermont." Once you enter through the glass double doors on Main Street, our offices are located at the end of the hall on the main floor. Metered parking is available on both St. Paul Street and Main Street. In addition, Burlington's parking garages offer free parking for the first two hours and are within walking distance of our office. Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; however, after hours and weekend appointments are available if necessary. In the event of an emergency after hours, there is 24 hour answering service. ^popular Click here to read more.

Police say they tend to see more drunken driving during the holidays than any other time of the year. That is why some authorities are cracking down to keep the highways safe this holiday season. ... Brown joined Vermont law enforcement Monday in kicking off a major-league crackdown on drunken driving. From now until New Year's Day, police will be doing all they can to stop drunken drivers, including checkpoints and patrols. ... More than 4,000 people were arrested for drunken driving in Vermont last year -- an average of 11 people every day. Many of the arrests come during the holidays, which is why the Public Safety Department is going to be cracking down especially hard over the next five weeks. The group has started running public service announcements on television, warning motorists that they will face the law if the imbibe too much and get behind the wheel. ^popular Click here to read more.

A lot of rubber will be meeting the road in Vermont and elsewhere in the next 24 hours, as an estimated 31 million people return home from holiday road travels. And they are likely to see a lot of sobriety checkpoints along the way. Vermont State Police say two dozen such operations will be conducted across the state before the end of the weekend. ... Flannigan says a checkpoint Wednesday night in South Burlington netted three arrests. With all the freezing rain and snow that have fallen in Vermont over this holiday weekend, Sgt. Flannigan says it's even more important to make sure drivers are not impaired. He says the combination of drinking and the heaviest road travel period of the year can be deadly. Last year, nearly 600 people were killed in traffic accidents around the country during this four-day weekend, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. About half of those accidents were alcohol related. ^popular Click here to read more.

Vermont's Roman Catholic Diocese has been ordered to turn over all of its documents about sexual misconduct by priests going back to 1950. Superior Court Judge Matthew Katz issued the order Monday in response to a lawsuit filed by Michael Bernier, 45. Bernier is seeking unspecified damages from the Vermont Roman Catholic Diocese and Reverend James McShane. The suit alleges that Rev. McShane sexually abused Bernier thirty years ago when Bernier served as an altar boy in Saint Albans. McShane is one of at least 40 priests under investigation by the Vermont Attorney General in connection with sexual misconduct allegations. McShane is currently on a leave of absence from his Rutland parish. The church records contain no information about MsShane or Bernier, according to Diocesan lawyers. ^popular Click here to read more.

A legal battle is brewing over a three year old Vermont law aimed at protecting children from internet predators. Under the law, using electronic means, such as computers, to attempt to contact minors for sexual purposes is a felony. Less than a dozen suspects have been charged under the law since it went effect in July 2000, but several of the cases have triggered a potential constitutional legal battle. At issue are several arrests triggered by specially-trained police officers, often in other states, who pose as minors on the internet in successful efforts to "sting" potential predators. Burlington defense lawyer Brad Stetler, representing one of the defendants "stung" by a detective posing as a "virtual-teen", says the ploy is unconstitutional. Stetler is seeking dismissal of the charges claiming there was no crime because there was no victim, and his client was engaging in free speech protected by the first amendment. "It creates a fantasy crime," said Stetler, "and it makes the police the thought police." ^popular Click here to read more.

A Burlington woman accused of letting her two children live in totally filthy conditions answered criminal charges today. The case has involved several state and local agencies that are still trying to unravel an explanation The owner of the house, 45-year old Ellen Norton, appeared in Vermont district court to face two cruelty charges and a third charge of abuse of a vulnerable adult. Norton denied charges that she abused her two children, a pre-teen son identified by the initials C.F., and young adult son, Andrew Norton. Officials say the older son can't speak, is legally blind, developmentally disabled and requires intense daily care, including help with basic functions. A week ago Wednesday, city officials issued an emergency health order and boarded up the house. The state took custody of the kids. "The scenario itself obviously is very disturbing on its face," police lieutenant Walter Decker told Channel 3. Decker said investigators found that both children had lived in squalor -- ^popular Click here to read more.

Driving without a license is no longer a crime (in Vermont) . America's rules of the road have always been brutally simple: if you get a ticket, pay the fine or your license will be suspended, and driving under suspension is a crime punishable by prison. Now those are still the rules of the road in every state except Vermont. Last spring the Vermont legislature decriminalized driving with a suspended license except for those suspended for drunk driving or felony reckless driving. The lawmakers changed the law at the urging of state court administrators who convinced them that dls is a minor offense that had been needlessly choking the clogged criminal dockets. So as of July first driving under suspension in Vermont became a civil offense that carries a $200 ticket. But under that new law suspended drivers cannot be sentenced to prison even if they never pay any fines and no matter how many times they are caught driving without a license. ^popular Click here to read more.

A recent string of crimes in Burlington is raising fears and questions about the state's probation system. The most serious violent crimes in Vermont's largest city tend to have one thing in common -- the suspects who were charged with those crimes had been in trouble before and were on some form of supervised release from prison. Some officials believe the probation system needs a fundamental shakeup. Take a look at almost any serious crime, as we did, and you'll find that it wouldn't have happened if the defendant had obeyed his or her release conditions. For now we limited our check to crimes that occurred in Burlington. As recently as two nights ago, a stolen Burlington police cruiser was crashed into a King street bar after the driver had just stolen it. The next day the judge sent the youth that police arrested, 17-year old Jeffrey Leduc, to jail without bail because he violated four prior release conditions. Crimes minor and major -- ranging up to homicide such as a drug-related killing on Pine street -- ^popular Click here to read more.

Backing Out (into road) Is Breaking The Law in Vermont. It's been a month since a motorist backed out of driveway on Spring Street in Burlington and killed 22-month-old Cierra Parent. Investigators say the little girl ran into a blind spot behind the car driven by 25-year-old Sidney Messick. Police say it does not appear Messick was negligent or criminally responsible for the little girl's death even though his license was under suspension. Nevertheless, the police report has been sent to the county prosecutor to determine whether Messick will face any charges. ... One of the potential penalties is a little known law that prohibits backing up onto highways and most roads even from your own driveway. Violators of the so-called "limitations in backing law" can get a 194-dollar ticket. But police say they only write those tickets to reckless drivers. ^popular Click here to read more.

Sheehey Furlong & Behm P.C. is a Burlington, Vermont law firm of 10 lawyers serving clients that include national, regional and Vermont-based business enterprises, non-profit organizations and individuals. The firm provides a full range of legal services in several practice areas, including corporate/business services, litigation, real estate, banking/financial services, health care, regulated industries and estate planning. We also assist our clients in securing governmental relations, lobbying and public affairs consulting services. Our lawyers have broad experience in their respective practice specialties. Many of our lawyers joined Sheehey Furlong & Behm with substantial professional experience in other arenas, including as general counsel to private and publicly-held companies, as state and federal prosecutors, as law clerks to federal trial and appellate judges and as associates at national law firms. ^popular Click here to read more.

Police say a St. Michael's College student lied about being sexually assaulted in her dorm. The 19-year-old woman -- who police have not named -- was charged Friday with filing a false police report. Investigators with the county sex crimes unit say the woman called police early Wednesday morning claiming she had been sexually assaulted in the bathroom of Joyce Hall. But Friday she admitted she made up the entire story. ^popular Click here to read more.

Laura Higginbotham is going to prison for causing the death of her 3-year-old daughter in 1998. At a Burlington court hearing Friday, Laura Higginbotham, 37, pled no contest to involuntary manslaughter. She was sentenced to serve one year in prison under the terms of a plea agreement. The plea agreement ended a criminal case that started six years ago with the death of her daughter Logan. The toddler died of a brain injury sustained on November 25, 1998, at Higginbotham's Shelburne home, according to state records. ... The medical examiner was unable to determine if the death was an accident, or homicide. For three years the case lay dormant until it was re-examined by police. The investigators consulted with medical experts, who re-examined the medical evidence and concluded the child's death was no accident. Two doctors found that the child's head had been intentionally slammed into a wall. ^popular Click here to read more.