Baker V. State
''Baker v. Vermont'', 744 A.2d 864 (Vt. 1999), was a lawsuit decided by Vermont Supreme Court on December 20, 1999. It was one of the first judicial affirmations of the right of same-sex couples to treatment equivalent to that afforded different-sex couples. The decision held that the state's prohibition on same-sex marriage denied rights granted by the Vermont Constitution. The court ordered the Vermont legislature to either allow same-sex marriages or implement an alternative legal mechanism according similar rights to same-sex couples. Background Following their initial success in Hawaii in 1996 that was later undone by a popular referendum in 1998, advocates for same-sex marriage selected Vermont for their lawsuit on the basis of the state's record of establishing rights for gays and lesbians as well as the difficulty of amending its constitution. Vermont enacted hate crimes legislation in 1990, one of the first states to do so. From the time the legislation that beca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vermont Supreme Court
The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The Court consists of a chief justice and four associate justices; the Court mostly hears appeals of cases that have been decided by other courts. The Supreme Court justices are appointed by the Governor of Vermont with confirmation by the Vermont Senate. When a judicial vacancy occurs, the judicial nominating board submits to the governor the names of as many persons as it deems qualified for appointment. All Supreme Court justices come up for judicial retention, retention at the same time every six years. The next retention date is March 31, 2023. The Joint Committee on Judicial Retention reviews a justice's performance during the previous term and recommends to the Vermont General Assembly whether the justice should be retained. The committee c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anti-discrimination Law
Anti-discrimination law or non-discrimination law refers to legislation designed to prevent discrimination against particular groups of people; these groups are often referred to as protected groups or protected classes. Anti-discrimination laws vary by jurisdiction with regard to the types of discrimination that are prohibited, and also the groups that are protected by that legislation. Commonly, these types of legislation are designed to prevent discrimination in employment, housing, education, and other areas of social life, such as public accommodations. Anti-discrimination law may include protections for groups based on sex, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, mental illness or ability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, sex characteristics, religion, creed, or individual political opinions. Anti-discrimination laws are rooted in principles of equality, specifically, that individuals should not be treated differently due to the characteristics ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vermont Law School
Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) is a private law and public policy graduate school in South Royalton, Vermont. It offers several degrees, including Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM) in Environmental Law, Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP), Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy (MFALP), Master of Energy Regulation and Law (MERL), and dual degrees with a diverse range of institutions. According to the school's 2018 ABA-required disclosures, 61.5% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. History Vermont Law School was founded in 1972 by Anthony Doria and held its first classes in the summer of 1973 with 113 students in what was then known as the old South Royalton schoolhouse. In December 1973, VLS was certified by the Vermont State Board of Education as an institution of higher learning. Doria resigned as dean of the school in 1974, after it emerged that he had been convicted of embezzle ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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National Gay And Lesbian Task Force
The National LGBTQ Task Force is an American social justice advocacy non-profit organizing the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. Also known as The Task Force, the organization supports action and activism on behalf of LGBTQ people and advances a progressive vision of liberation. Leadership includes executive director Rea Carey and deputy executive director Kierra Johnson. The Task Force organizes the annual Creating Change conference, a skills-building event for community and allies with over 2,000 attendees each year. The Task Force Policy Institute think tank conducts social science research, policy analysis, strategy development, public education, and advocacy. History Founded in 1973 as the National Gay Task Force, the organization became the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in 1985. It adopted its current identity in October 2014. The founders of the National Gay Task Force included Robert L. Livingston and his hu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chittenden County, Vermont
Chittenden County () is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, its population was 168,323. The county seat is Vermont's most populous municipality, the city of Burlington. The county has over a quarter of Vermont's population and more than twice the population of Vermont's second-most populous county, Rutland. The county also has more than twice the population density of Vermont's second-most dense county, Washington. The county is named for Vermont's first governor and one of the framers of its constitution as an independent republic and later U.S. state, Thomas Chittenden. The county has most of Vermont's fastest growing municipalities. It is one of the three counties that comprise the Burlington metropolitan area, along with the counties of Franklin and Grand Isle to the north and northwest, respectively. The University of Vermont, Vermont's largest university, is located in the county, as well as its affiliated hospital, the UVM ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peter Shumlin
Peter Elliott Shumlin (born March 24, 1956) is an American politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 81st governor of Vermont from 2011 to 2017. He was first elected to the office in 2010, and was reelected to a second term in 2012. In 2014 he received a narrow plurality in his race for reelection, but did not attain the 50% threshold mandated by the Constitution of Vermont. In such cases the Vermont General Assembly elects the winner. The legislature almost always selects the candidate who received a plurality; this held true, and the General Assembly re-elected Shumlin to a third term by a vote of 110–69 in January 2015. In June 2015, Shumlin announced that he would not seek re-election in 2016. He signed laws on physician-assisted suicide as well as the United States' first genetically modified food labeling requirement during his tenure as governor. He was chair of the Democratic Governors Association during his first two terms. He was a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Beth Robinson
Beth Robinson (born March 6, 1965) is an American lawyer and judge from Vermont. She is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and is the first openly lesbian judge to serve on any Circuit Court. Robinson served as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 2011 to 2021. Robinson was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and she was raised and educated in Indiana. She graduated from Dartmouth College ( BA, 1986) and the University of Chicago Law School ( JD, 1989). After serving as a law clerk for a federal judge, Robinson joined Vermont's Langrock, Sperry & Wool law firm, where she was active on cases related to workers' compensation, personal injury, and constitutional law. Robinson became active in the movement for expanded rights for gays and lesbians, and served as co-counsel in the case of '' Baker v. State'', the 1999 decision that led to Vermont passing the first civil unions law. As chair of the Vermont Freedom to Marr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gay & Lesbian Advocates And Defenders
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is a non-profit legal rights organization in the United States. The organization works to end discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression. The organization primarily achieves this goal through litigation, advocacy, and education work in all areas of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights and the rights of people living with HIV. In addition, GLAD operates a legal information line, GLAD Answers, where LGBTQ & HIV+ residents of New England can receive attorney referrals and information about their rights. The organization changed its name to GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders in February 2016. GLAD is based in Boston, Massachusetts, and serves the New England area of Northeastern United States. Background GLAD was originally called the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders. It was founded by John Ward in 1978, in response to a sting operation conducted by Boston police that resulted i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mary Bonauto
Mary L. Bonauto (born June 8, 1961) is an American lawyer and civil rights advocate who has worked to eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and has been referred to by US Representative Barney Frank as "our Thurgood Marshall." She began working with the Massachusetts-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, now named GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) organization in 1990.''New York Times''"Toward a More Perfect Union," May 5, 2004 accessed June 29, 2010 A resident of Portland, Maine, Bonauto was one of the leaders who both worked with the Maine legislature to pass a same-sex marriage law and to defend it at the ballot in a narrow loss during the 2009 election campaign. These efforts were successful when, in the 2012 election, Maine voters approved the measure, making it the first state to allow same-sex marriage licenses via ballot vote. Bonauto is best known for being lead counsel in the case ''Goodridge v. Department of Public Health'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Declaratory Judgment
A declaratory judgment, also called a declaration, is the legal determination of a court that resolves legal uncertainty for the litigants. It is a form of legally binding preventive by which a party involved in an actual or possible legal matter can ask a court to conclusively rule on and affirm the rights, duties, or obligations of one or more parties in a civil dispute (subject to any appeal). The declaratory judgment is generally considered a statutory remedy and not an equitable remedy in the United States, and is thus not subject to equitable requirements, though there are analogies that can be found in the remedies granted by courts of equity.''Samuels v. Mackell'', 401 U.S. 66, 70 (1971) (“Although the declaratory judgment sought by the plaintiffs was a statutory remedy rather than a traditional form of equitable relief, the Court made clear that a suit for declaratory judgment was nevertheless ‘essentially an equitable cause of action,’ and was ‘analogous to t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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South Burlington, Vermont
South Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Along with neighboring Burlington, it is a principal city of the Burlington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,292. It is home to the headquarters of Ben & Jerry's and the state of Vermont's largest mall, the University Mall. History The area of South Burlington was first granted by the Province of New Hampshire as part of Burlington township on June 7, 1763. The town of Burlington was organized ''circa'' 1785. In 1865, the unincorporated village of Burlington was chartered as a city. The remaining area of the town of Burlington was incorporated by charter of the State of Vermont as a separate town with the name South Burlington in the same year, 1865. The town of South Burlington was later incorporated as a city in 1971, becoming the City of South Burlington. City Center Initiative The City Center Initiative is a proposal to create a walkable downtown for South Burlingt ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shelburne, Vermont
Shelburne is a New England town, town in Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located along the shores of Lake Champlain, Shelburne's town center lies approximately south of the city center of Burlington, Vermont, Burlington, the largest city in the state of Vermont. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Shelburne was 7,717. The Shelburne (CDP), Vermont, main settlement of Shelburne in the center of town is a census-designated place (CDP), with a population of 6,178 at the 2020 census. The town is the wealthiest municipality in both Chittenden County and the Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area, Burlington metropolitan area. History Shelburne was chartered by New Hampshire, August 18, 1763, to Jesse Hallock and 64 associates by governor Benning Wentworth. The name "Shelburne" or "Shelburn" was chosen to honor William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, a celebrated nobleman of the British parliament and Prime Minister of t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |