Brian Burgess
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Brian Burgess is a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. He was appointed to the state's highest bench on July 8, 2005 by Republican Governor James Douglas. Immediately prior to this appointment, Burgess had been serving as Vermont's Administrative Trial Judge.[1] He will be up for a retention election by the General Assembly at the end of his current term in 2011.[2]
Legal education
In 1973, Justice Burgess received his B.A. from the College of Holy Cross and his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law in 1976.[1]
Legal experience
Justice Brian Burgess was staff attorney for Vermont's social welfare department in 1978, was the Vermont Assistant Attorney General from 1978 until 1983, was Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry from 1983 to 1985, and served as Deputy Attorney General in 1985, until he was appointed to the District Court in 1992.[1]
Dissent in international custody case
In August 2008, the Supreme Court overturned a family court ruling from 2002. The family court "gave custody of a son born to a Bennington couple to the father," but in 2000 the mother went to Canada obtained custody. In the majority (3-2) opinion, Justice Marilyn Skoglund wrote, "This is one of those rare cases where the best interests of the child must take precedence over the policy goal of deterring parental wrongdoing. Canada was the more appropriate forum to resolve this matter." Justice Brian Burgess disagreed: "The majority rewards the kidnapper, and encourages others, by equating unlawful frustration of family court jurisdiction with the best interests of the child. ... While mother's criminal interference with father's parent-child contact was extraordinary, she demonstrated no extraordinary circumstances warranting relief from the family court's order on jurisdiction."[3]
External links
References
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The Vermont Project on Judgepedia
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