MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - The Vermont Supreme Court has blocked outgoing Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin’s effort to pick a successor for a Supreme Court justice who is retiring months after Shumlin leaves office.
The court ruled Wednesday, after hearing the case on Tuesday.
Shumlin had planned to make the nomination for the seat that will be vacated by Justice John Dooley, who is retiring at the end of March. The Supreme Court blocked him from naming a replacement at the end of December after the Republican leader in the Vermont House challenged his authority to do so.
At a court hearing on Tuesday, a lawyer from the Vermont Attorney General’s office said the process of replacing Dooley started when he announced in September that he would not seek re-appointment to the court, to which he was first appointed in 1987.
But attorneys representing Republican leaders in the Vermont Legislature said the appointment cannot be made until Dooley leaves office, which means Republican Gov.-elect Phil Scott would make the selection.
The Supreme Court agreed.
“In short, there is no support for respondent’s position that the Vermont Constitution gives him the authority to appoint a successor for an opening on this Court that does not become vacant - unoccupied - until after he leaves office. Respondent cannot complete the appointment process by swearing in a new justice now - effectively adding a sixth justice - because the vacancy does not arise until Justice Dooley leaves office,” the justices wrote.
A lawyer representing Turner and Republican Sen. Joseph Benning said she was thrilled with the decision.
“In my opinion the law was extremely clear. All the case law, all the decisions that looked at this particular issue all said, every single one of them, said that someone who has what they call appointing authority, like a governor, cannot make an appointment for a vacancy that occurs after their term ends. So we thought we had obviously an extremely strong case and I’m glad that the court agreed with us,” said Deborah Bucknam.
Shumlin disagreed with the ruling and said it was inconsistent with his administration’s reading of the law.
“I wish the next governor well in selecting the new justice,” he said.
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