www.vtbar.org
liant academy facilitator D. Bates went
on VPR to debate the constitutionality
of restorative justice processes versus
the constitutionality of plea-bargaining with the attorney general and the
defender general. But these attorneys
never even showed up nor could they
be reached by VPR although they had
promised to be on the show and in the
studio beforehand. D. Bates then gave
the radio address about the national
need for criminal justice reform and
the opportunity Vermont had to lead
the nation in this vital field. His speech
hit home with the public and key members of the legislature, which finally
found the political will to start reforming Vermont’s criminal justice statutes.
Bates’ speech also set forth the ideas
that became the initial platform for
the Justice Party, which has given us
so many great legislatures and recent
governors. Though Bates was sued for
slander by the attorney general and
defender general for his comments
concerning their non-appearances,
the case was eventually dismissed with
prejudice and affirmed on appeal.
It is hard to believe today how far
we’ve come. Of course, our school system with the adoption of restorative
processes in place of automatic disciplinary suspensions and expulsions in
the 2020s also helped create the sensibility of the modern Vermont judge,
jurist, and legislator, all of whom zealously safeguard justice matters from
being hijacked out of the hands of citizens into their own hands under the
false pretext of saving “the system”
time and money, or whatever other
bogeyman reason savvy troublemakers care to raise. And the ability of Vermont’s students and citizens to resolve
conflicts peacefully and civilly through
the use of circles and group conferences is world-renowned. It’s no wonder
New York, still adhering to justice by
plea-bargain, has built its sixteen foot
fence on our border to deter its citizens from taking up residence here.
Dean Free refuses to side with the critics who claim restorative justice processes
are “unfair” because they “create different outcomes,” “are too emotional,” “ too
time consuming,” and “give people headaches.” He also claims Vermont’s plea-bargaining free justice system has attracted
many of the “new age” spiritual communities that have taken up residence in our
state whose adherents have developed
many of the seemingly miraculous methods
of meditation-transportation techniques in
use today, which as we all know have reduced pollution and resulted in fewer automobiles on Vermont’s scenic highways. To
THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SUMMER 2014
SPECIAL ISSUE: “Justice Goal Achieved”
tion of human ignominy.
Personally, I like to think that the
founder of our academy, Professor
Prometheus Gale, really set the stage
for Vermont to become the restorative
state it is today. Bucking the “hard”
science forces of the time that had a
stranglehold on the educational environment at the University—science departments at the time actually disparaged the notion of the power of the
personal narrative in one’s life—he
persuaded its president, U. C. Farr, to
allow him to create a masters degree
program in restorative justice facilitation. And, as we are proud to note,
our program draws upon the classical roots of rhetoric and logic that
emerged reunited after the Second
World War in modern argumentation
theory.2 His adherence to the roots of
restorative justice in antiquity helped
him sway the president and the university’s board—it also distinguished
his academy from that of Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania Restorative Justice Academy, which relied on a twentieth century social science theory of our emotional natures.
But Professor Prometheus did more
than just root the academy in the wisdom of antiquity. He brought forth his
own “fire from heaven,” as ݔ