l"§t5%

*”1‘"ca'“'—3C'i8‘i rr33~Ft:l’t3)i)i’<§’l:ii’rA'ii<l’s”‘1“i~i’é’§<’te*’lii'lt:

LEGAL

'-:'-!Z:&'i‘2L‘L'{‘t'-ttfilrlz

BY BETH,ROB|NS0l\l

0 law can bring‘ back
NM21ttlteiv Shepard. The
United States Congress

can, however, honor his life,
and protest his senseless, bru-
tal murder, by enacting more
potent hate crimes legislation.

 

What does current federal
law say about hate crimes?

Presently, federal officials
may prosecute certain hate
crimes only if they can demon-
strate (l) intentional interfer-
ence by force or threat with
certain federal rights (such as
voting or going to school), and
(2) that the victim was chosen
on the basis of either racial
bias or religious bias.

In addition, a person con-
victed of a federal crime (most
crimes are state crimes) may be
subjected to enhanced criminal
penalties if he or she intention-
ally selected a victim because
of the victim’s actual or per-
ceived race, color, religion,
national origin, ethnicity, gen-
der, disability or sexual orien-
tation.

What are the proposed
changes to federal law?

The Hate Crimes Prevention
Act of 1998 would amend pre-

sent federal law in two impor-
tant ways. First, it would add
crimes motivated by disability,
gender, and sexual orientation
bias to the list of ‘crimes sub-

_ject to federal prosecution.

Second, it would allow the fed-
eral government to prosecute
even if the victim wasn’t exer-
cising any specific federal
right (such as voting). By
removing this overly—restric-
live obstacle, and by expand-
ing the types of invidious bias
that are prohibited. the pro-
posed law would greatly
enhance the federal govern-
ment’s ability to prosecute hate
crimes. (The Senate bill is S.
1529, and the House bill is
H.R. 3081, in case you want to
write, call, fax, or e—1nail your
Senators and Representative.)

Why can’t states prosecute
hate crimes?

Most states can and do pros-
ecute hate crimes. However,
existing state laws are inade-
quate in scope. Only 20 states
include sexual orientation-
based crimes in their hate
crimes statutes; 18 include
gender-based crimes, and
twenty cover disability-based
crimes. Plus, state laws are
often woefully under enforced.
The federal law would enable
the United States Department

of Justice to take a hard line

«against hate crimes in the face

of recalcitrant. local
enforcement officials.

law

ononuuononoouoococuooooon

Does Vermont have a hate
crimes law?

Vermont’s hate crimes law,
enacted in 1990, provides for
enhanced criminal penalties
for those convicted of crimes
“maliciously motivated by the
victim’s actual or perceived
race, color, religion, national
origin, sex, ancestry, age, ser-
vice in the arrned...handi-
cap . . . or sexual orientation.”
The law also allows individu-
als subjected to hate-motivated
crimes to sue the perpetrators
civilly, and to claim compen-
satory and punitive damages.
Finally, Vermont’s hate crimes
law specifically prohibits the

D   tlavllashino and the law    

burning of a cross or religious
symbol with the intention of
terrorizing or harassing’ a par-

” ticular person.

Some civil libertarians argue
that hate crimes laws punish the
expression of beliefs which,
however repulsive, are
constitutionally protected.

Are hate crimes laws con-
stitutional?

Some civil libertarians
argue that hate crimes laws
punish the expression of
beliefs which, however repul-
sive, are constitutionally pro-
tected. On that basis, the
United States Supreme Court
has struck down a hate crimes
law which sought to punish
expressive acts designed to
harass, such as cross burning,
raising some questions about
the constitutionality of the
cross-burning portion of
Verrnont’s statute. However,
although the debate continues,
both the Vermont Supreme
Court and the United States

Supreme Court have upheld
sentencing-enhancement pro-
visions on the ground that such

laws punish conduct, not
beliefs. M  
We . will never know

whether an effective hate
crimes law wouldi have made
any difference in ‘Matthew
Shephard’s case. Effective
education of our youth, and
education of society at large, is
a more effective ;..-preventative
measure than simply enacting a
criminal law to punish. hate-
motivated conduct after it help-
pens. Nonetheless, especially
when it is actually enforced,
the hate crimes law can send a
powerful message that selec-
tive violence against women,
glbtqs, racial minorities, reli-
gious minorities and the dis-
abled is not acceptable in a
civil society. V

Susan A/{urray and Beth
Robinson are attorneys at
Langroclc Sperry & Wool in
ll/[ia’dlebury, Vermont w/rose
practices include employment
issues, family matters, estate
planning, personal injury and
workers compensation cases,
and general commercial and
civil litigation. This column
features timely information
about legal issues ofinterest to
our community. We hope to
provide information about
important laws and court cases
that may affect our rights, as
well as practical nuts and bolts
advice for protecting ourselves
and our families. Ifyou ’d like
to see us cover a particular
topic, please feel free to write
OITM or call us at 388-6356.

VICTORY OFFICIAL THREATENED

continued from front page

for now," saying she was waiting
for the state police to complete
the investigation first and deter-
mine whether a case can be
established independently.

Paul said she was hopeful
that the state police probe
would come up with suspects
that she could prosecute,
although she refuses at this
point to speculate on what the
charge she might bring would
be.

“We find in a significant
number of cases that perpetra-
tors brag about their action
somewhere down the road,” she
said.

Complicating this case are
the small-town politics of
Victory, where only about 50
people live year-round. There
have been ugly incidents in the
past, but never anything as hate-
ful as the one against Kanoff.
She is frustrated that nothing
has been turned up since the
investigation began.

“What’s equally amazing is
that relatively few people were
outraged enough by the hate
crime to do anything,” she
wrote in The Caledonian-
Rexcord. “Yes, the state police
are investigating. They told me
it would take several months for
the lab in Montpelier to try and
get fingerprints off the photo-
graph,”

“But let’s face it: Victory is a
tiny town, the smallest in
Vermont. Someone knows who
did this. Yet a wall of silence
has permeated throughout.”

That is until a report on the
crime went statewide and
appeared in Sunday newspapers
late last month. Then the sup-
port began pouring out to
Kanoff from people appalled by
the gravity of the crime.

She’s gotten calls of support
and offers of help from all over
Vermont and as far as Boston,
where the story also appeared in

The Boston Globe.

“I have gotten calls from
people who are upset about
what has happened here,” she
said in an interview. “People
have offered me attorneys’
names and ofiered to do things
for me. People have asked me if
I needed places to stay.”

And prosecutor Paul also is
making clear that she believes a
crime has been committed. She
says that’s perfectly obvious
just from looking at the picture.

“Someone took the time to
cut that picture out of the news-
paper. Someone took time to
draw on that picture,” Paul said.
“It took time to write ‘Death To
Queers’ on that picture. It shows
a great deal of premeditation.”
V

o

  is taking a well-deserved break this month, but her column “Crow’s

Caws” will return in December. She is pictured here with Anne Moore, NGLTF (National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force) intern and Middlebury College Alum. Moore was one of the partici-
pants in Cohen’s conference workshop.

photo: Scot Applegate

IIITM is always looking lor volunteers to help with
distribution. smiling. and other tasks. Please contact

Barbara IIIIZEIDS at 434-‘HIM 0|‘ 0llIll@l0!IBl||B|'.IlGl I0 fillll
lllll IIIIW llllll can IIBIII llllllf Bllllllllllllilll newsnaner. '