VPR News: VT Edition Interview: State's Attorney Bobby Sand on Diversion issues

VT Edition Interview: State's Attorney Bobby Sand on Diversion issues

Wednesday, 12/12/07

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In November, in Windsor County, two and a half pounds of marijuana were found on a woman's property and she was charged with possession. The woman in question, 61 year-old attorney Martha Davis, did not receive a jail sentence. Instead, Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand referred Davis for court diversion.

That decision sparked a controversy. Governor Jim Douglas said Bobby Sand had overstepped his bounds. The governor ordered law enforcement officials in Windsor County to bypass Sand's office and send future first time marijuana cases to the Attorney General or US Attorney.

Recently it was revealed that a case in Orange County where 110 marijuana plants had been discovered was also sent to court diversion, but that the Governor had not intervened in that case.

Last Friday on Vermont Edition, Governor Douglas told Bob Kinzel that he supports court diversion programs, but that the situation in Windsor County stands out:

Yesterday, in a new development, the Governor rescinded his policy of diverting marijuana cases away from Windsor County, stating that he was "heartened to hear on the news last night and again from him this morning in a communication to my office-that Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand will not have a one-size-fits-all practice of policy for Windsor County."

VPR's Jane Lindholm spoke with Bobby Sand about the case and the controversy.

AP Photo/Toby Talbot