Vermont Bar Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2 Vermont Bar Journal, Spring 2017, Volume 43, No. 1 | Page 30

by Stephen D. Kelson, Esq.
A Look at Violence Against
the Vermont Legal Profession
Violence is an increasingly concerning is-
sue in our country where even the legal pro-
fession has been affected. Throughout 2015
and 2016, national media groups report-
ed a number of sensational acts of violence
against the legal profession. For example, in
Indiana, a family law attorney was targeted, in
an alleged murder plot, by a mother and son
with a syringe containing a lethal dose of an-
esthetic succinylcholine. In Michigan, an in-
mate facing sexual assault charges attempt-
ed to stab an assistant prosecutor in court
with a shank. In Mississippi, an attorney was
shot and killed during a deposition. In Okla-
homa, an attorney, in self-defense, shot and
killed a client who attacked him. In Alabama,
a city attorney while at his office was shot in
the chest. Also in Alabama, two people were
killed in a shooting at an attorney’s office. In
Delaware, a man attempted to hire an un-
dercover detective to kill his former defense
counsel and a prosecutor. In Texas, a judge
was ambushed and shot in front of her home.
In Florida, two men were allegedly enlisted
to kill a Florida State University law professor.
At first glance, the number of threats and
violence reported by the media against the
legal profession might suggest that such inci-
dents are unique and extremely rare. Howev-
er, contrary to the general perception, many
members of the legal profession, including
members of the Vermont legal profession,
experience threats of violence and actual vio-
lence arising from the practice of law.
To better evaluate and understand the
degree of threats and violence against at-
torneys at the state level, from March 28,
2016 through May 19, 2016, all active, in-
state members of the Vermont legal profes-
sion were invited to participate in an on-line
survey regarding violence and threats of vio-
lence they have experienced in the practice
of law. This article provides a brief summary
of the responses to the 2016 survey (the “Sur-
vey”) and a glimpse into work-related threats
and violence experienced, but seldom dis-
cussed, by members of the Vermont legal
profession.
Statewide Studies of Violence
Against the Legal Profession
To date, twenty-five statewide surveys have
been conducted regarding violence against
the legal profession. The results provide
a rare insight into the nature and frequen-
cy of work-related threats and violence ex-
perienced by the legal profession, the over-
whelming majority of which have never been
publically reported.
30
Year
2006
2008
2012
2012
2012
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2014
2014
2014
2014
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2016
2016
2016
Table 1:
Statewide Surveys of Violence and Threats of Violence Against Attorneys
In-State
% In-State
Threats/
%
State
Membership Responses Membership Violence Respondents
Utah
6,832
904
13.2
417
46.1
Idaho
3,627
780
21.5
319
40.9
Nevada
8,245
1,039
12.6
412
40.0
Wyoming
1,639
467
28.5
211
46.0
Oregon
13,916
1,862
13.4
684
36.7
New
6,170
919
14.9
369
40.0
Mexico
Arizona
17,383
1,841
10.6
777
42.2
Iowa
7,329
1,333
18.2
547
41.0
N. Carolina
21,856
2,251
10.3
732
32.5
Kansas
8,177
1,185
14.5
480
40.5
Nebraska
4,937
286
6.8
101
35.3
Michigan
35,824
4,219
11.8
1,529
36.2
Mississippi
7,048
422
6.0
195
46.2
N. Dakota
1,663
243
14.6
113
46.5
Louisiana
22,257
1,577
7.1
576
36.5
Rhode
4,454
293
6.6
104
35.5
Island
Hawaii
4,122
356
8.6
134
37.6
Alaska
2,444
471
19.3
195
41.4
Alabama
14,509
1,088
7.5
440
40.4
Washington 25,678
1,720
6.6
756
44.0
Delaware
2,952
225
7.6
87
38.7
Montana
3,247
403
12.4
169
41.9
S. Carolina
12,236
839
6.9
379
45.2
Colorado
21,739
1,255
5.8
589
46.9
Vermont
2,213
240
10.9
106
44.2
Acts of violence reported by attorneys in
these state surveys include numerous shoot-
ings, stabbings, assaults and batteries, as well
as vandalism to attorneys’ businesses and per-
sonal property. Numerous threats of violence
include stalking, phone calls, written letters,
emails, texts, on-line posts, verbal threats of
physical violence and death threats, and even
attempts to hire “hit men” to kill attorneys
and judges. The results of each of these state
surveys show that violence and threats of vi-
olence against members of the legal profes-
sion are much more prevalent than report-
ed by the media or commonly perceived by
practitioners.

The Survey of Violence against the
Vermont Legal Profession
The Survey was conducted independent-
ly by the author, using an email list created
from alternative sources, and administe