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Duckman Firing Linked to Larger Budget Problem
October 6, 2007
The Burlington Free Press (VT)
By Adam Silverman
This week's firing of Public Defender Lorin Duckman, among Vermont's most visible defense attorneys, is one of many responses to a judiciary-wide budget shortfall, the state's defender general said.
Duckman, 60, whose clients included the man accused of abducting and killing a University of Vermont senior a year ago, and the suspect in last summer's shooting rampage in Essex, learned Monday his position was being eliminated. He earned about $63,000 a year and another $15,000 in benefits such as health insurance. Taken together, those figures represented a significant savings, said Defender General Matthew Valerio.
Duckman's dismissal is not expected to delay cases he had handled.
Valerio said his office faced a $266,000 budget shortage, part of a shortfall of $800,000 across the judicial branch of Vermont state government.
"It's not just him," Valerio said, referring to Duckman, who has worked in Vermont for nearly six years. "This is part of a much larger issue."
Like the rest of the judiciary, the Defender General's Office is not hiring staff to fill vacancies or replace former employees, and planners are considering asking the Legislature to appropriate more money, Valerio said. The budget squeeze, he said, was caused in part by rent increases, the rising cost of court transcripts, mandatory pre-sentencing reports in all sex-offense cases and too little money to cover negotiated pay raises.
About 24,000 people face charges in Vermont courts each year, and the state's public defenders represent defendants in 85 percent of the cases, Valerio said.
Duckman was the only employee to lose a job. He was targeted, Valerio said, because he was the only member of the Serious Felony Unit within the Defender General's Office. His termination effectively shutters the unit.
"He had eight clients. They all had co-counsel except for one," Valerio said. "We were able to transition the clients really well, and, frankly, the numbers worked."
Richard Haesler, a Chittenden County public defender, had worked with Duckman as defense attorneys for Essex shooting suspect Christopher Williams; Haesler will take over as lead counsel. That case remains scheduled to go to trial next summer.
In the matter of Brian Rooney, the suspect in last October's slaying of UVM student Michelle Gardner-Quinn, 21, of Arlington, Va., Duckman had served by himself as defense counsel on an unrelated sexual-assault case. Lawyers decided last week, before the firing, the murder case should go to trial first, followed by the assault proceedings. That means Duckman's replacement will have time to become familiar with the case, Valerio said.
Lawyers in county public defenders' offices and private-practice attorneys under contract with the state will represent suspects in future major crimes, Valerio said.
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