Authored by: annikee on Tuesday, February 24 2009 @ 11:14 AM GMT+4

I already voted for you, Tom. :)

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"I have words in here & I'm not afraid to use them!"

Authored by: pjmelton on Tuesday, February 24 2009 @ 01:51 PM GMT+4

What ARE the duties of this office? And why is it there if its duties have not been exercised in 17+ years? Have they ever been?

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"Economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by human beings." -- FDR

Authored by: Maxwell_Edison on Tuesday, February 24 2009 @ 02:19 PM GMT+4

According to the town of Brattleboro's website (brattleboro.org):

"Town Grand Juror

"One 1-year term. The grand juror has the same power in the town as the attorney general has within the state and that the state’s attorney has within the county. The grand juror is advised to call upon the state’s attorney or town attorney for help with presentation of the case. He prosecutes as needed."

A more detailed version from the VLCT Handbook for Vermont Town Officers, 1999:

"GRAND JUROR

"Roles and Responsibilities

"The grand juror is responsible for inquiring into and providing information to the proper authorities of criminal offenses that may occur in the town in which he or she has been elected. 13 V.S.A. § 5504. This office is mostly obsolete; the state’s attorneys provide most of the criminal investigation, enforcement and prosecution services in the local communities.

"History. Historically, the town grand juror had the authority to enforce criminal misdemeanor laws, including ordinance violations in the town in which he or she was elected. Under modern laws of arrest, the grand juror is not a law enforcement officer, and is thus unable to arrest or cite an individual for the violation of a law. Additionally, in most cases the grand juror’s prosecutorial function has been taken over by the state’s attorneys or the Attorney General’s office.

"Election. One or more grand jurors are elected at a town’s annual meeting. The grand juror shall serve until the next annual meeting and until a successor is chosen, unless otherwise provided by law. 17 V.S.A. § 2646(10).

"Payment. No statutory provisions require payment for the grand juror’s services. In addition, if compensation is not set by the town or the selectboard, the official may not make a claim for personal service to the town. 24 V.S.A. § 931.

"Powers. Prior to adoption of civil ordinance enforcement in the Judicial Bureau, in a few larger communities, such as Rutland and Burlington, the city grand juror prosecuted all criminal ordinance violations occurring within the city. This was done in concert with the local state’s attorney’s office, which appointed the grand juror as a specially assigned state’s attorney. When so appointed, the grand juror prepared the cases and prosecuted them in court on behalf of the city.

"In communities that have adopted civil ordinances, the grand juror no longer has a role to play in enforcing ordinances, unless the selectboard chooses to name him or her as an official who is authorized to write tickets or prosecute cases in the Judicial Bureau.
Given the complex legal situation that exists today and the ease with which lawsuits are initiated against even professional law enforcement personnel, we strongly urge any town grand juror who receives information about criminal wrongdoing in the town to contact the local state’s attorney."

Peace,
Max

Authored by: cgrotke on Wednesday, February 25 2009 @ 12:01 AM GMT+4

I might have more power as the Town Fence Viewer than the Town Grand
Juror. Never considered that before.

Good luck, Tom. One question, though: I see you have been active in
town matters. What makes you think you are qualified to do nothing? :
)

Authored by: tomaidh on Wednesday, February 25 2009 @ 11:34 AM GMT+4

I like to think of the difference between a Generalist and a Specialist.
A Specialist learns more and more about less and less until he eventually knows everything about nothing.
On the other hand...
A Generalist learns less and less about more and more until he eventually knows nothing about everything.

It's like that...sort of.

Authored by: pjmelton on Wednesday, February 25 2009 @ 04:19 PM GMT+4

I think generalists and specialists both eventually reach some kind of epistemological asymptote, so it's never really possible to know nothing about everything OR everything about nothing. But it sounds funny anyway.

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"Economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by human beings." -- FDR

Authored by: tomaidh on Thursday, February 26 2009 @ 12:05 AM GMT+4

"epistemological asymptote"
Now that's a good one !