Law Offices of William W. Cobb, PLC

12/07/2025

Hi All, my new office location is at 1129 Main Street, 2nd Floor, St. Johnsbury, Vermont. I handle criminal defense and family law cases (divorce, parentage, RFAs) and can be reached at 802-498-5983

06/02/2015

Vermont has an expungement statute. If you have a misdemeanor crime on your record which is at least 10 years old and no other subsequent criminal record, you can petition to get the crime expunged from your record. Expunged means that all of the records related to your criminal charge are physically destroyed by court order, including court files, prosecutor's files, and police reports. The court will keep a special index of offenses that have been expunged so that the court can re-issue a certificate of expungement to you if you ever need one; but the index is not open to the public and lists only your name, date of birth, the criminal offense and the docket number if a case was filed with the court. Certain misdemeanors do not qualify, such as DUIs and crimes involving abuse or harm of another person (domestic assault, reckless endangerment, abuse of vulnerable adult, etc.). Two felonies do qualify: grand larceny and unlawful mischief with damage exceeding $1000.00. If you are trying to get the crime expunged but you did commit a subsequent crime, then you have to wait 20 years. Just some helpful information on a piece of legislation that passed a few years ago with Joe Benning's help (13 VSA § 7602; Qualifying crimes listed at 13 VSA § 7601(4))

05/22/2015

I have re-opened my Hyde Park office. Focusing on my legal practice - criminal, divorce/family law, civil litigation. Hyde Park address: 213 Main Street, Ste 1, Hyde Park, VT 05655; Telephone: 802-851-8137. Will maintain my St. Johnsbury office.

03/24/2015

The trial of Boston marathon defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is underway. The defendant is represented by defense attorney Judy Clarke. Her basic theory of the case is that Tsarnaev does not challenge the fact that he committed the crimes, and is taking full responsibility upfront for the bombings, loss of lives, and injuries to innocent people and destruction of property. His defense is that he was manipulated and controlled by his radical older brother, and that he should not be held responsible for the crimes for this reason. Tough case to defend, but it is probably the only logical way to present a defense. Even if he loses at trial, he has raised some issues for sentencing that could allow him to avoid the death penalty. For a defense attorney, that might be the goal.

03/23/2015

An interesting article in the Denver Post shows that 96% of the high risk unit's prison population has a traumatic brain injury. When you consider that 80% of the general prison population has a traumatic brain injury, it would seem logical that legislatures and courts around the country should be making much more of a push to appreciate the significance of head injuries contributing to criminal behavior.

Full article below:
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_27673196/nearly-all-denver-jail-inmates-high-risk-unit

Almost every inmate in the Denver jail's high-risk unit has traumatic brain injury, DU study finds.