BURLINGTON, VT – Vermont Federal Court Judge Christina Reiss Tuesday acknowledged from the bench faults within the Vermont sobriety program during a sentencing hearing concerning the accused’s criminal history and a statement from the accused.
Defense Attorney Mark Oettinger requested the criminal history category of the accused be moved down to a 4 or a 3 category, claiming that it overstated the accused’s criminal history.
However, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt opposed this statement, noting the accused’s criminal history and a concern of the state for re-offense = the prosecutor argued a more significant sentence would help provide deterrence.
Defense counsel Oettinger maintained the accused was a lifelong Vermonter, had family support including a partner and three children, and may have a job possibility when released.
Additionally, there was a period of time between the current case and the accused’s previous criminal history where the accused was working on addiction issues and was staying out of legal trouble, added Oettinger, who claimed these reasons support the claim the accused would be a good candidate for supervised release.
The accused told the court he regretted past actions and behavior and stated they wanted to be there for their family.
The accused noted struggles in breaking addiction and said that when they were put on residential treatment in a past case for two weeks, it was not enough time to maintain sobriety outside of the program, leading to their current case.
Judge Reiss agreed with the issues of the sobriety program, that two weeks was not enough time, and noted that many neighboring states had programs that lasted 90 days. Judge Reiss mentioned it was a topic that they planned to address with the Vermont state government.
Defense Attorney Oettinger noted they had heard about the difficulties surrounding the short time period given in the sobriety program, but never from an accused individual.
Judge Reiss determined the criminal history was not overstated and that due to this, category 5 is appropriate. Judge Reiss sentenced the accused to 27 months, with credit for time served, followed by three years of supervised release.
Judge Reiss further waived a fine due to the inability of the accused to pay and accepted the request to recommend the accused be moved to a facility closer to their family.
