The case involves an appeal to the Supreme Court of Vermont on the issue of whether the Vermont Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Act, 9 V.S.A. §§ 4500-4507 [the Act], applies to state correctional facilities, thereby giving the Human Rights Commission [the Commission] jurisdiction to ...
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The case involves an appeal to the Supreme Court of Vermont on the issue of whether the Vermont Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Act, 9 V.S.A. §§ 4500-4507 [the Act], applies to state correctional facilities, thereby giving the Human Rights Commission [the Commission] jurisdiction to investigate complaints filed by state prisoners alleging violations of the Act.
In November 2003, the Commission served a subpoena on the Department of Corrections [DOC] in connection with a discrimination charge filed on behalf of a state prisoner who complained that a correctional facility discriminated against him on the basis of his disability. The DOC moved the Commission to quash the subpoena on the theory that the prison was not a "place of public accommodation" under the Act. The Commission denied the request.
The DOC then moved to quash the subpoena in Superior Court. In September 2004, the request was denied following a hearing. The Superior Court issued a stay pending appeal by the DOC.
On appeal, the Vermont Supreme Court affirmed, finding that the Act, viewed in light of its underlying purpose and history, demonstrated that the Legislature intended it to apply to all governmental institutions and that there was no exclusion for prisons.
We have no further information on this matter.
Dan Dalton - 02/17/2007
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