Limits On Travel For Religious Purposes Pending Trial OK'd By Vermont High Court

In State of Vermont v. Johnson, (VT Sup. Ct., Sept. 21, 2011), the Vermont Supreme Court upheld the conditions imposed by a trial court in releasing Janette Johnson pending her trial for aggravated domestic assault with a deadly weapon.  The conditions include not leaving Bennington County, except for church services in Cambridge, New York. Johnson unsuccessfully sought a modification so that she could also travel around New York and New England with her liturgical dance group. The court rejected the claim that this limitation violates Johnson's free exercise of religion.