Source: Final Reading: An October Return – VTDigger, May 7, 2021
“Civil trials were put on hold more than a year ago amid Covid-19 concerns and the difficulties of social distancing in a courtroom. As a result, the court system has a major backlog of cases, particularly noncriminal cases.
With six jurors instead of 12, ‘we can simplify all the social distancing problems,’ said Vermont attorney Rich Cassidy, who represents clients in personal injury and employment cases, and supports the legislation. ‘More courts can hear jury trials, and it will move things along.’
Opponents question the constitutionality of such a change.
‘I think you would see this challenged in the Supreme Court,’ Cassidy said. ‘I don’t see that as a bad thing. I think it’s the right way for the court to weigh in on this issue.'”
OnLawyering Blog picked up for syndication on LexBlog – February 2021
Rich Cassidy’s blog for legal professionals, OnLawyering has recently been syndicated on LexBlog. You can see the syndicated feed here.
Source: Local lawyer weighs in on whether employers could require COVID-19 vaccines – NBC 5, December 15, 2020
“While it will be months before most people will be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine, there are questions about whether employers will require employees to get vaccinated.
Rich Cassidy, a personal injury and employment lawyer, said the law is unfavorable for employees in the country and ‘very favorable to employers.’
However, there are some exceptions. Employees could be protected by contracts, anti-discrimination laws and protections in the Americans With Disabilities Act.
‘An employee might claim that they can’t take the vaccine because they have an illness, they might be required to prove that and then the question would be whether or not it’s reasonable or not for the employee to be accommodating by the employer by not being required to take the vaccine,’ he said.”
Workers could be let go for virtually any reason “and not being vaccinated would be one of those reasons,” Cassidy said.
Source: Court rejects BPD officer pay requirement – Bennington Banner, March 2, 2020
“Knight’s attorney, Matthew Shagam, of Rich Cassidy Law of South Burlington, said the central issue in the appeal was that the separate agreement the town required for new officers was not included in the negotiated collective bargaining agreement and also conflicted with it.
Shagam said Monday that he had also heard but was unable to verify that other Vermont police departments were considering such an agreement and were monitoring Knight’s case.
The attorney said some Vermont departments have repayment agreements in place, but those are part of an overall officer collective bargaining agreement.
‘I would say that is the right way to do this,’ Shagam said.”
Source: Man Accused in Wrong-way Crash that Killed 5 Teenagers Seeks New Trial – NBC 5, August 2, 2019
“Richard Cassidy, a Vermont attorney and legal analyst for NBC 5, said it is now on the judge to decide if jurors were influenced by their emotions to overlook evidence in their verdict.
‘There’s a certain amount of concern that the jury might be affected by the heinous events in question and their emotions might lead them in the direction of reaching a conviction,’ Cassidy said.”
Full Video of Burlington Police Officers’ Association Press Conference held on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, courtesy of Burlington Free Press.
Source: Lawyer: Body cam video shows officer acted in self-defense with Douglas Kilburn – Burlington Free Press, July 3, 2019
“[Richard Cassidy, t]he lawyer for a Burlington police officer who is the subject of a use-of-force investigation says his client’s body camera footage makes clear that he was acting in self-defense.”
Related articles:
Source: Judge Orders Release of Bodycam Video from Kilburn Arrest – Seven Days, July 1, 2019
“Burlington officials must disclose bodycam video showing the March altercation outside the University of Vermont Medical Center between a city cop and Douglas Kilburn, who died three days later, a judge ruled Monday.”
“The decision is a win for the Burlington Police Officers’ Association, which sued on behalf of Officer Cory Campbell. Unless the city appeals to the Vermont Supreme Court, the footage will soon become public and may shed new light on the controversial case.
‘It will be good for everyone involved to see this, from Officer Campbell to the community at large,’ union president Dan Gilligan said.”
“Del Pozo and City Attorney Eileen Blackwood did not return calls for comment Monday. But Campbell’s attorney, Rich Cassidy, said he didn’t expect the city to appeal.
‘We think it’s good for union members to have this kind of video be readily available, because our people do a good job of doing very difficult work,’ he said.”
Source: Judge orders Burlington to release body cam footage to officer – VTDigger, July 1, 2019
“A state judge has ordered the City of Burlington to provide Officer Cory Campbell his body camera footage and other records from his encounter with Douglas Kilburn, who died days after Campbell punched him.”
“Richard Cassidy, the union’s lawyer, said he was very pleased by the ruling.
‘I never thought it was a close case, so we’re not surprised we would prevail,’ he said. ‘We’re really hopeful the city will release the video promptly.’
Cassidy said while the city has 30 days to appeal the court’s decision, he hoped they would not use that time on an appeal and would instead release the video.”
Source: Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office dismisses three major crime cases – NBC affiliate WPTZ, Channel 5 News, June 4, 2019
Rich comments on mental health care and the insanity defense for NBC affiliate WPTZ, Channel 5 News.
Source: The Push to Remove Any Mention of Slavery From Vermont’s Constitution – The Atlantic, June 1, 2019
“Perhaps because of this onerous process, Vermont’s constitution is svelte. Amendments are judged by voters and legislators alike on whether they fulfill basic needs and structural concerns, rather than whether they legislate any specific issue, says Richard Cassidy, an attorney who studies the state’s constitution. That has meant the document is much more generalized than many of its peers, some of which have hundreds of amendments and concern themselves with such relative banalities as the government of specific municipalities.”
Source: Mental Health Workers Seek to Ease Their ‘Duty to Warn’ – Seven Days Vermont, February 1, 2017
“In February 2011, 21-year-old Evan Rapoza walked into the basement of a St. Johnsbury apartment building where Michael Kuligoski was fixing the furnace. Rapoza attacked the 50-year-old repairman with a pipe wrench, strangled him with a belt and tried to drown him in a bucket of water. Rapoza, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, had never met the older man.
Kuligoski survived, but he has “very severe, permanent disabling injuries” and will never work again, according to his family’s attorney, Richard Cassidy. Rapoza was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial.”
Source: Rutland Native Starts Burlington Law Firm – Rutland Herald, November 11, 2016.
“BURLINGTON — Rich Cassidy’s passion for the law was first sparked in 1970, when he was volunteering for former Vermont Governor Phil Hoff’s run for the U.S. Senate as an anti-war candidate. Amid all the controversy surrounding the Vietnam War, Cassidy said he learned about the wide impact the law could have, and that it could be “a tool for making the world a better place.” “I said, ‘I want to have that ability in my tool box,’” he said….”
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