Gov. Phil Scott on Thursday appointed a Washington County deputy state’s attorney to serve as a special prosecutor in Chittenden County focused on a backlog of repeat offender cases.
Zach Weight, who’s been a prosecutor in Washington County since 2023, will initially be focused on people who have five or more open cases and are awaiting trial, the governor’s office said in a press release. Weight’s appointment is effective immediately.
“My focus is to champion public safety, uphold due process for defendants, and provide compassionate support for victims,” Weight said in a written statement.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George said in a press release last week that there are 50 to 70 people in the county who are "repeatedly causing harm to multiple victims,” and many of them struggle with mental health and substance use issues.
Scott said during his weekly press conference on Wednesday that he expected the new "accountability court" would officially launch next week.
Retired Superior Court Judge Martin Maley has been assigned to oversee the new docket, state court administrator Teri Corsones said in an email on Thursday.
There will be two public defenders assigned to the court as well, Josh O’Hara, supervising attorney for the Chittenden County Public Defender Office, said on Thursday.
“I’ll be one of those two attorneys so I can see how the court operates and see if I can offer any ways to make it more effective and make the process go smoothly,” O’Hara said in a phone interview.
Burlington, like many municipalities around the state, has struggled to address public safety concerns tied to a sharp rise in unsheltered homelessness and public drug use. The Queen City has taken several steps in recent months to address these concerns, including boosting police patrols downtown and launching ‘situation tables’ to coordinate responses to people who might need multiple social services.
City leaders and the governor’s office had been at odds over how to address the issue, but Scott’s announcement last week that he’d appoint a special prosecutor in Chittenden County signaled a shift.
“We don’t agree on every issue, but that day we worked together to try to solve that dilemma,” Scott said on Wednesday.
The new accountability court was the first part of what the governor says will be a “14-point plan” aimed at helping Burlington address quality of life crimes and “service-resistant” repeat offenders.
The remaining parts of Scott’s plan will be announced in the coming days, according to the governor’s office.
Scott declined on Wednesday to provide more details about the rest of his plans for Burlington and said he was still waiting to hear back from Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stank. But he said the appointment of the special prosecutor was the “major piece” of the plan.
“We hope we’ll learn a lot from it and possibly utilize it in other areas if we find that pieces could help unlock the backlog we’re seeing in the court system,” Scott said on Wednesday.
The mayor’s office, in a written statement on Thursday, said they are “continuing to collaborate on the details of the plan.”
“This has continued to be a constructive process, and one that demonstrates the ability of elected leaders — even of different political parties — to unite around common goals,” the statement said.
