Vermont has some of the strongest protections for civil rights and civil liberties in the country, but there is more we must do to counter those who seek to turn back the clock on the progress we have made together. 

Immigrants' Rights

President Trump has targeted immigrants since day one of his administration, including his unconstitutional executive orders banning birthright citizenship and asylum at the southern border. Similarly, Congress has unjustly targeted immigrants through the Laken Riley Act. We are urging Vermont lawmakers to impose stronger restrictions on the use of state and local resources to aid in federal immigration actions. This includes strengthening existing non-cooperation policies such as the Fair and Impartial Policing policy.

Bodily Autonomy

The Trump administration has already attempted to redefine Title IX in an effort to reinstate discrimination based on sex and sex stereotypes. In addition to their efforts to end gender-affirming health care for transgender youth nationwide, Trump and his allies have promised to rollback protections for abortion care--maneuvers that threaten our freedom to determine our own life course and are in direct opposition to Vermont's Reproductive Liberty Amendment.

We urge state leaders to continue to follow state laws that protect access to health care and full participation in schools for all, and to backfill any funding the federal government seeks to withhold from school districts and medical providers who refuse to enable this kind of unlawful discrimination.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Efforts

The Trump administration’s three executive orders targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives take a “shock and awe” approach that upends longstanding, bipartisan federal policy meant to open doors that had historically been unfairly closed. We must resist efforts to weaponize civil rights laws that address discrimination and ensure everyone has a fair chance to compete, whether it’s for a job, a promotion, or an education.

The post Building a Firewall for Freedom appeared first on ACLU of Vermont.

Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity, no matter who they are or where they live. Part of a nationwide movement to address the crisis of mass incarceration and systemic racism in the criminal legal system, the ACLU's Smart Justice Vermont campaign aims to transform our criminal legal system so that it is humane, equitable, and rooted in community-based solutions.

Smart Justice launched in 2018 with the goals of reducing Vermont's prison population by at least half from its peak and combatting racial disparities in the criminal legal system. By 2023, the campaign had contributed to a forty percent reduction in the state prison population through policy reforms, impact litigation, and voter education efforts, with new initiatives underway in the 2023-24 legislative biennium.

Re-cap: First five years of smart justice vermont.

About the Campaign

Vermont has committed to creating a smarter criminal legal system – and it’s working. With continued innovation, we can build on this success. We have both the opportunity and a responsibility to eliminate our overreliance on incarceration and address underlying disparities at every point in the system – from someone's first interaction with law enforcement to when they return to their community. That includes addressing some of the following key areas:

• Bail reform
• Sentencing reform
• Parole & probation reform
• Decriminalization of substance use
• Prosecutor accountability
• Comprehensive and accessible data
• Challenging systemic racism

What makes Vermont unique is our connection to each other – and if we use prisons as a last resort, we can ensure our communities are strong, vibrant, and inclusive.

About Vermont's Criminal Justice System

Between 1980 and 2009, the number of people incarcerated in Vermont’s unified corrections system rose by 363 percent to its peak of 2,220 people. Recognizing the unsustainability of this trend, the state engaged in the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, passing reform legislation in 2008 to stem projected additional growth in the state’s incarcerated population. State policymakers also passed legislation in 2011 designed to reduce recidivism by strengthening treatment and reentry support and offering alternatives to incarceration in some situations, among other strategies. Between 2009 and 2017, the state’s incarcerated population declined by nearly 25 percent.

Still, in 2017, 1,546 people were incarcerated under the jurisdiction of the DOC, which was 222 percent higher than the number of people incarcerated under the DOC’s jurisdiction in 1980. By June 2019, the DOC reported that there were 1,708 people incarcerated under its jurisdiction. When people on community supervision are included, the reach of the Vermont justice system is even greater. At the end of 2016, 7,400 people — more than 1 percent of state’s total population — were under some form of correctional control.

During the 2019 legislative session, Vermont lawmakers charged the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee with pursuing polices to “create a smarter criminal justice system that prevents avoidable incarceration, returns people to communities without risking public safety, and reduces or eliminates the need for out-of-state prison placements or new prison bed capacity in Vermont.” As a result, the three branches of Vermont government and stakeholders including the ACLU are now engaged in a second “Justice Reinvestment Initiative” process with the Council of State Governments, with the ultimate goal of passing wide-ranging reform legislation in 2020 and building upon the first Justice Reinvestment Initiative. 

Learn more about Vermont's prison population.

Blueprint for Smart Justice

The ACLU of Vermont's “Blueprint for Smart Justice” is a comprehensive report on the current state of Vermont’s prison system, with a list of detailed strategies for cutting the prison population by half, increasing the use of community-based alternatives, and addressing racial disparities that are among the worst in the nation. The report is intended to support the efforts of state leaders who are working on broad-based criminal justice reform proposals ahead of the coming legislative session. 

The report was commissioned by the ACLU’s national Smart Justice Campaign, which collaborated with the Urban Institute to produce a comprehensive, 50-state series of reports, including policy analysis with proposals for states to challenge racism in their criminal justice systems and cut incarceration in half. 

For additional information on the Blueprint and its recommendations, visit the Blueprint for Smart Justice page.

What can you do to help transform our criminal legal system?

• Please sign our petition to create a smarter legal system in Vermont. Everyone deserves fair treatment, no matter who they are or where they live – and right now, our criminal legal system does not provide that.
• We believe in the power of Vermonters' stories, and we want to hear about your experiences with our current system. Please fill out our story form and share your story, or the story of your loved one. Your story will remain confidential unless you give us explicit permission to share it.

By signing the petition and sharing your story, you can help shape policies that will have a direct impact on the lives of people in Vermont.

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In a state that prides itself on its compassion and mutual support, everyone should have a safe and secure place to live. And yet, Vermont has the 2nd highest rate of homelessness in the country and is on track to potentially have the highest rate of homelessness nationwide this year. Three times as many people were recorded as experiencing homelessness in January 2023 compared to January 2020. Learn more from Vermont's 2023 Point-in-Time Count of Those Experiencing Homelessness.

As the state ends its emergency motel-voucher program in Summer 2023, thousands of Vermonters stand to lose their temporary housing, including hundreds of children and people with disabilities. Eliminating housing of this scale during a historic housing crisis betrays our shared values of compassionate, responsive government and strong, supportive communities. Far from saving the state money, this plan simply passes financial and legal liability to our cities and towns.

Make no mistake, our state absolutely has the resources to support all of our neighbors – what we need now is leadership.

Letter to municipalities

The ACLU of Vermont sent an open letter to Vermont’s municipal leaders and agencies today, urging respect for constitutional rights at a time when the number of unhoused people and families in Vermont communities is increasing rapidly. The ACLU has filed numerous legal actions to vindicate the rights of low-income and unsheltered Vermonters in recent years.

The ACLU’s letter notes that Governor Scott and the Vermont legislature chose to end the state’s emergency housing program without providing sufficient alternatives. That policy choice will compound the stress on localities and service providers—who are already strained beyond capacity—to meet existing needs. While calling on cities and towns to respect the constitutional rights of all residents, the ACLU is also urging all Vermonters to demand solutions—and adequate funding—from Governor Scott and state legislators.

Know your rights

Vermonters who are unsheltered or struggling with houselessness have a right to exist in public spaces, and property rights. Read our Know Your Rights Guide for Unhoused Vermonters to learn what is prohibited and to understand your rights under the law. 

Take action

We urge state leaders to act now on behalf of everyone who has relied on the emergency housing program, and the countless Vermonters who share these concerns for their neighbors' safety. Contact your representatives today and urge them to provide funding for the extension of emergency housing programs when they return for a veto-override session in late June.

It's also a good time to reach out to leaders in your community—the select board, city council, town manager, police chief, and others—and urge them to extend humane and compassionate support to people experiencing homelessness, not punishment and criminalization. Local leaders need to know that residents of their community will not tolerate inaction on this issue or further stigmatization of people living in poverty.

The post Housing is a Human Right appeared first on ACLU of Vermont.

Under a "Smarter Stops" bill (H.176 or S.257), low-level violations such as a broken taillight or an obscured license plate – reasons that Black drivers are disproportionately stopped – would no longer serve as a legal reason for law enforcement to pull someone over. The legislation would reduce discriminatory practices on the road, improve community safety, and better define the role of police in our communities.

Contact your legislators today.

Traffic stops are the most common way that people interact with law enforcement – yet these stops can be far from routine. They can lead to fines, searches, and arrests, and to physical harm, disproportionately impacting Black and Brown drivers.

By making smarter stops, Vermont can protect the safety and liberty of everyone on the road. Contact your legislators today and stay tuned for how you can get further involved during the 2024 legislative session.

Read more about Smarter Stops for Safer Roads

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