Help the Vermont Legislature in removing Vermont District Court Judge Edward Cashman

Whereas, Vermont District Court Judge Edward Cashman is currently sitting in Chittenden County, and

Whereas, on Wednesday January 4, 2006, Judge Cashman sentenced a defendant to a minimum term of 60 days as punishment for the defendants admitted repeated sexual assaults on a young girl during the time the child was 6-10 years old, and

Whereas, Judge Cashman stated that he issued this extraordinarily short sentence, despite the states attorneys recommendation of a minimum eight-year prison term, to expedite the defendants eligibility for the sexual offender rehabilitation program, and

Whereas, Judge Cashman also declared that after 25 years, he no longer believes in punishment, and

Whereas, in accordance with Chapter I, Article 6th, of the Constitution of the State of Vermont, all officers of government are servants of the people and are accountable to the people in a legal way, and

Whereas, the Vermont Constitution, in Chapter II, 64 recognizes that punishment of long duration can serve as a deterrent to crime, and

Whereas, Chapter II, section 64 of the Vermont Constitution also requires that the punishment consider the protection of the victim and the reparation of injuries done to the victim, which was specifically rejected in this sentence, and

Whereas, while judges may disagree over the specific duration of a criminal sentence, the minimum 60-day sentence issued in this case is so short that it is beyond the bounds of any degree of reasonability, and

Whereas, Judge Cashmans sentence, by rejecting punishment and providing for the protection of the victim violated Chapter II, section 64, of the Vermont Constitution, and

Whereas, although Judge Cashmans sentence did not otherwise technically violate a sentencing guideline or statute, its total inappropriateness in combination with his public declaration that he no longer believes in punishment makes him unfit to continue as a judge on the Vermont state bench, now therefore be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:

That the General Assembly urges, in the strongest possible terms, that Judge Edward Cashman resign immediately from the Vermont state bench, and be it further

Resolved: That the secretary of state be directed to send a copy of this resolution to Judge Edward Cashman at the Chittenden County District Court in Burlington and to Chief Justice Paul Reiber at the Vermont Supreme Court.