News & Commentary

Yesterday Vermont’s Department of Corrections announced the first case of COVID-19 inside the Northern State Correctional Facility, and another person is under observation.

In the wake of Vermont’s first confirmed cases of coronavirus/COVID-19 and the temporary adjournment of the state legislature, the ACLU of Vermont is monitoring state and local responses to the pandemic and is in contact with state officials to lend support as needed.

The following op ed was written by ACLU of Vermont Executive Director James Duff Lyall. It first appeared in VT Digger on January 22, 2020.

Final recommendations for potentially far-reaching criminal justice reforms will be discussed at a meeting today of state leaders and the nonpartisan Council of State Governments (CSG).

This week, a Seven Days investigation revealed “credible allegations of sexual harassment or assault” involving more than a dozen correctional officers employed at Vermont’s only women’s prison, Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF), going back to 2011.

The following op ed was written by ACLU of Vermont Staff Attorney Jay Diaz. It first appeared in the Bennington Banner on November 6, 2019

VTDigger released the police body camera footage at the center of the ACLU’s recent Vermont Supreme Court victory in Doyle v. City of Burlington Police Department. Here is our statement.

VTDigger yesterday released the police body camera footage at the center of the ACLU’s recent Vermont Supreme Court victory in Doyle v. City of Burlington Police Department.

Vermonters believe that everyone deserves fair treatment, no matter who they are or where they live -- and right now, our criminal justice system is not working for everyone.