By Guy Page

A criminal judge with a long history of ‘catch and release’ during his short time on the bench has been reassigned to family court.

Since September, Judge Justin Jiron has served as the Orleans Superior Court (criminal) judge. On December 11, Chief Superior Court Judge Thomas Zonay issued an “amended assignment and designation” statement, effective January 29, 2024, of the current assignments.

The statement does not indicate why Jiron has been moved to the Orleans Family, Juvenile and Relief from Abuse (RFA) unit. His backup posts are the same Caledonia and Essex County units. Judge Rory Thibault will assume the Orleans County Superior Court criminal bench. 

Gov. Phil Scott appointed Jiron to the criminal court bench in 2021 and reappointed him this year. As reported in today’s Vermont Daily Chronicle and often over recent months, Jiron has developed a reputation in the Northeast Kingdom for not consistently jailing suspects charged with violent crimes. Some of these suspects either fled or were subsequently charged with violent crimes.

Cody Myott was arrested for assault and robbery in October. Jiron denied a request for a mental health screening and released him. Hours later Myott was charged with domestic assault. 

Caleb Maniscalchi was released to his mother’s custody by Jiron October 10 after police say the Clyde River fisherman bashed a fellow angler in the head and then tried to drown him for entangling his line.

In May, Jiron found no probable cause for Vermont State Police arrest of a man for burglarizing a St. Johnsbury pizzeria. He issued the decision through a clerk, rather than follow the usual practice of telling the state’s attorney and police in open court. “The fact that he didn’t even take the bench to address it is pretty egregious,” State’s Attorney Jessica Zaleski reportedly told the Caledonian-Record. “Without an explanation from the judge it’s pretty hard to figure out what exactly is missing.”

Last October, Jiron dropped felony drug trafficking-to-minors charges against the operator of the Best Buds Smoke Shop in St. Johnsbury. The man’s arrest followed a six-month investigation by state authorities. Jiron said the bust lacked probable cause due to lack of witnesses.

A ‘person of interest’ in the December 1, 2022 shooting death of David Peatman, 66 at his home in Eden was released on $300 bail – and then failed to show for two St. Johnsbury court appearances. The suspect, Shawn Rich, already had a history of hiding from the law. Whether Rich has appeared before a Vermont court since December, 2022 is not known.

Jiron’s own family has a criminal arrest record: his parents for transporting large amounts of marijuana across the country, and his daughter for DUI. 

These decisions and others led state senator Russ Ingalls to fume in a June 2023 letter to fellow senators: “This guy is still a judge?!”

At the October 11 press conference, VDC noted Jiron’s pattern of catch-and-release and asked Scott, “Did you make a mistake with him?”

“I have to have faith in his judgment and what he’s doing,” Scott answered. “I don’t know anything about the specific cases, but I think he made it to the next level to become a judge because I had faith in his integrity and ability to make those decisions.”

Despite standing by his man on October 11, Scott signaled impatience with the catch-and-release practice at a later press conference.

A Rutland Herald reporter asked about his city’s Democratic mayor questioning the judicial catch and release policy. Scott responded: “We need to make sure people are held accountable. We can’t just let people go.”

The Herald asked why there’s more courtroom catch and release now than in years past. “I think it’s a legislative initiative,” Scott said “It’s happened over time.”

The practice should be addressed in the upcoming Legislature, Scott suggested.