Justice chided for overturning 5 high-profile homicide cases
Dublin Core
Title
Justice chided for overturning 5 high-profile homicide cases
Subject
Homicide--Law and legislation
Vermont. Supreme Court
Description
In 1995, five homicide convictions are overturned by the Vermont Supreme Court. Michael Mello praises justices for overturning murder convictions.
Creator
Donoghue, Mike
Source
Donoghue, Mike. "Justices chided for overturning 5 high-profile homicide cases." The Burlington Free Press, October 8, 1995.
Publisher
HIST 298, University of Mary Washington
Date
1995-10-08
Rights
The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source.
Format
3 JPGs
300 DPI
Language
English
Coverage
Montpelier, VT
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
[Title] Justices chided for overturning 5 high-profile homicide case
[Author] Mike Donoghue
Montpelier -- A recent string of convictions overturned in several high-profile cases, including five homicides, has no common thread and might be rooted in the independent nature of the Vermont Supreme Court.
Michael A. Mello, a Vermont Law School professor, and David Putter, a Montpelier lawyer, are among the legal scholars giving the high court top marks for independence in tough cases.
"There does not appear to be a common thread," Putter said. "Obviously, they have a lot of cases they didn't overturn."
Putter said he doubts the justices enjoy overturning cases, but have a duty to make sure trials are fair. The more complex the case, the more likely an error is made, he said.
Overturning five homicide cases in one year has netted the court public criticism from the family of victims, jurors, one prosecutor and even Gov. Howard Dean. Records indicate that 15 out of 22 homicide convictions have been upheld in recent years.
The criticism fails to loosen the lips of Vermont Chief Justice Frederic Allen. Allen said recently he never comments on cases even when they are considered closed because they sometimes have a way of being reopened.
Mello said the homicide reversals by the Supreme Court are based on different fact patterns. Mello, at the request of The Burlington Free Press, recently reviewed the reversals in four homicide cases: Rebecca Durenleau in Chittenden County, Christopher Bacon in Windham [end page one]
[start page two]County, and Monica Pollard and Wayne Delisle in Franklin County.
The Supreme Court said:
-In Durenleau, the verdict was incorrectly based on the jury's conjecture.
-In Bacon, the trial judge erred when he explained the concept of intent.
-In Pollard, there was inadequate proof in the court record to show he was competent to enter a guilty plea.
-In Delisle, the judge erred in his instructions on whether the defendant could be found guilty of manslaughter, a lesser offense.
Mello praises the court for overturning Delisle's murder conviction. Mello noted he is working on the appeal for a Florida death row inmate and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the same argument.
Mello, who has taught at the law school in South Royalton for eight years, said the Vermont court, in overturning other cases, is a strong believer in protecting rights of citizens, especially when it comes to search and seizure.
Reaction and change
Former Chittenden County State's Attorney William Sorrell was among those livid by the high court's overturning the 1992 conviction of Rebecca Durenleau for helping her then-lover Harmon Olmstead kill her husband, Michael Durenleau, in 1985.
The high court said the jurors had used too much circumstantial evidence to convict the woman and had to leap too far to connect
The justices
[image - Frederic Allen, labeled:
Name: Chief Justice Frederic Allen
Date of birth: May 31, 1926
Residence: Shelburne
Family: Wife, Karen McAndrew; two sons and two daughters
Background: Born and educated in Burlington. 1951 graduate of Boston University Law School, Burlington alderman, private practice with Dinse, Allen and Erdmann 1951-84. Named chief justice in 1984.]
[image - Ernest Gibson, labeled:
Name: Associate Justice Ernest Gibson
Date of birth: Sept. 23, 1927
Residence: Montpelier
Family: Wife, Charlotte; one son and two daughters
Background: Born and educated in Brattleboro. 1956 graduate of Harvard Law School, former state's attorney and legislator from Windham County, chairman of the Public Service Board in 1963, elected a Superior Court judge in 1972. Appointed to Supreme Court in February 1983. ]
[image - John Dooley, labeled:
Name: Associate Justice John Dooley
Date of birth: April 10, 1944
Residence: South Burlington
Family: Wife, Sandra
Background: Born and educated in Nashua, N.H. 1968 graduate of Boston College Law School, head of Vermont Legal Aid, secretary of administration for governor. Appointed to the court in June 1987.]
[end page two]
[start page three] her to the death. In a rare move, the court set Durenleau free instead of ordering a new trial.
Although the case angered the public, there appeared to be no doubt in the mind of the high court. The diverse court had no dissenting opinions.
Sorrell, who has been mentioned as a possible successor to Allen when he retires in the spring, said the court did not have the benefit of hearing the testimony or noting the demeanor of witnesses.
Sorrell's criticism of the court is rare among lawyers for two reasons: The Supreme Court is in charge of discipline, and most losing lawyers know they are likely to have more cases before the justices.
Nothing can be done when the court says there was too little evidence, as in Durenleau's case. After other Vermont Supreme Court rulings, the Legislature has passed new laws to overrule the effect a court decision can have in future cases.
Former Attorney General M. Jerome Diamond said he won a workman's compensation claim on appeal and the next session of the Legislature, lawmakers passed a law prohibiting others from winning under similar circumstances.
Putter agrees with Diamond. Putter noted the court can make "bad law," as when it upheld the conviction of the killer of policeman Edward Battick, but ruled the mandatory life sentence actually meant up to life and parole was available immediately.
The Legislature later passed laws establishing new sentences for first- and second-degree murder and allowed for life sentences without parole.
Diamond said he would not be surprised if the Legislature were asked to eliminate the three-year statute of limitations for manslaughter because of the Delisle case and a similar Chittenden County case.
[image - James Morse, labeled:
Name: Associate Justice James Morse
Date of birth: Sept. 11, 1940
Residence: Charlotte
Family: Wife, Gretchen; two daughters
Background: Born in New York City and educated in Eastchester, N.Y; 1969 graduate of Boston University Law School, defender general and Superior Court judge. Appointed to Supreme Court in 1988.]
[image - Denise Johnson, labeled:
Name: Associate Justice Denise Johnson
Date of birth: July 13, 1947
Residence: Shrewsbury
Family: Husband, Thomas Wies; a son and a daughter
Background: Born and raised in Wyandotte, Mich. 1974 graduate of University of Connecticut Law School, Vermont Law School teacher, assistant attorney general 1980-88, Vermont Human Rights Commission 1988-90. Appointed to the Supreme Court in December 1990.]
[end page three]
[Author] Mike Donoghue
Montpelier -- A recent string of convictions overturned in several high-profile cases, including five homicides, has no common thread and might be rooted in the independent nature of the Vermont Supreme Court.
Michael A. Mello, a Vermont Law School professor, and David Putter, a Montpelier lawyer, are among the legal scholars giving the high court top marks for independence in tough cases.
"There does not appear to be a common thread," Putter said. "Obviously, they have a lot of cases they didn't overturn."
Putter said he doubts the justices enjoy overturning cases, but have a duty to make sure trials are fair. The more complex the case, the more likely an error is made, he said.
Overturning five homicide cases in one year has netted the court public criticism from the family of victims, jurors, one prosecutor and even Gov. Howard Dean. Records indicate that 15 out of 22 homicide convictions have been upheld in recent years.
The criticism fails to loosen the lips of Vermont Chief Justice Frederic Allen. Allen said recently he never comments on cases even when they are considered closed because they sometimes have a way of being reopened.
Mello said the homicide reversals by the Supreme Court are based on different fact patterns. Mello, at the request of The Burlington Free Press, recently reviewed the reversals in four homicide cases: Rebecca Durenleau in Chittenden County, Christopher Bacon in Windham [end page one]
[start page two]County, and Monica Pollard and Wayne Delisle in Franklin County.
The Supreme Court said:
-In Durenleau, the verdict was incorrectly based on the jury's conjecture.
-In Bacon, the trial judge erred when he explained the concept of intent.
-In Pollard, there was inadequate proof in the court record to show he was competent to enter a guilty plea.
-In Delisle, the judge erred in his instructions on whether the defendant could be found guilty of manslaughter, a lesser offense.
Mello praises the court for overturning Delisle's murder conviction. Mello noted he is working on the appeal for a Florida death row inmate and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the same argument.
Mello, who has taught at the law school in South Royalton for eight years, said the Vermont court, in overturning other cases, is a strong believer in protecting rights of citizens, especially when it comes to search and seizure.
Reaction and change
Former Chittenden County State's Attorney William Sorrell was among those livid by the high court's overturning the 1992 conviction of Rebecca Durenleau for helping her then-lover Harmon Olmstead kill her husband, Michael Durenleau, in 1985.
The high court said the jurors had used too much circumstantial evidence to convict the woman and had to leap too far to connect
The justices
[image - Frederic Allen, labeled:
Name: Chief Justice Frederic Allen
Date of birth: May 31, 1926
Residence: Shelburne
Family: Wife, Karen McAndrew; two sons and two daughters
Background: Born and educated in Burlington. 1951 graduate of Boston University Law School, Burlington alderman, private practice with Dinse, Allen and Erdmann 1951-84. Named chief justice in 1984.]
[image - Ernest Gibson, labeled:
Name: Associate Justice Ernest Gibson
Date of birth: Sept. 23, 1927
Residence: Montpelier
Family: Wife, Charlotte; one son and two daughters
Background: Born and educated in Brattleboro. 1956 graduate of Harvard Law School, former state's attorney and legislator from Windham County, chairman of the Public Service Board in 1963, elected a Superior Court judge in 1972. Appointed to Supreme Court in February 1983. ]
[image - John Dooley, labeled:
Name: Associate Justice John Dooley
Date of birth: April 10, 1944
Residence: South Burlington
Family: Wife, Sandra
Background: Born and educated in Nashua, N.H. 1968 graduate of Boston College Law School, head of Vermont Legal Aid, secretary of administration for governor. Appointed to the court in June 1987.]
[end page two]
[start page three] her to the death. In a rare move, the court set Durenleau free instead of ordering a new trial.
Although the case angered the public, there appeared to be no doubt in the mind of the high court. The diverse court had no dissenting opinions.
Sorrell, who has been mentioned as a possible successor to Allen when he retires in the spring, said the court did not have the benefit of hearing the testimony or noting the demeanor of witnesses.
Sorrell's criticism of the court is rare among lawyers for two reasons: The Supreme Court is in charge of discipline, and most losing lawyers know they are likely to have more cases before the justices.
Nothing can be done when the court says there was too little evidence, as in Durenleau's case. After other Vermont Supreme Court rulings, the Legislature has passed new laws to overrule the effect a court decision can have in future cases.
Former Attorney General M. Jerome Diamond said he won a workman's compensation claim on appeal and the next session of the Legislature, lawmakers passed a law prohibiting others from winning under similar circumstances.
Putter agrees with Diamond. Putter noted the court can make "bad law," as when it upheld the conviction of the killer of policeman Edward Battick, but ruled the mandatory life sentence actually meant up to life and parole was available immediately.
The Legislature later passed laws establishing new sentences for first- and second-degree murder and allowed for life sentences without parole.
Diamond said he would not be surprised if the Legislature were asked to eliminate the three-year statute of limitations for manslaughter because of the Delisle case and a similar Chittenden County case.
[image - James Morse, labeled:
Name: Associate Justice James Morse
Date of birth: Sept. 11, 1940
Residence: Charlotte
Family: Wife, Gretchen; two daughters
Background: Born in New York City and educated in Eastchester, N.Y; 1969 graduate of Boston University Law School, defender general and Superior Court judge. Appointed to Supreme Court in 1988.]
[image - Denise Johnson, labeled:
Name: Associate Justice Denise Johnson
Date of birth: July 13, 1947
Residence: Shrewsbury
Family: Husband, Thomas Wies; a son and a daughter
Background: Born and raised in Wyandotte, Mich. 1974 graduate of University of Connecticut Law School, Vermont Law School teacher, assistant attorney general 1980-88, Vermont Human Rights Commission 1988-90. Appointed to the Supreme Court in December 1990.]
[end page three]
Original Format
Newpaper
Contributor of the Digital Item
Hobbs, Sophia
Student Editor of the Digital Item
Williams, Megan
Files
Citation
Donoghue, Mike, “Justice chided for overturning 5 high-profile homicide cases,” HIST299, accessed July 12, 2026, https://hist299.umwhistory.org/items/show/241.