Vermont's reputation for prim Yankee propriety extends to its state government, traditionally one of the cleanest in the country. But a blot has formed on the pristine Green Mountain State record, in, of all places, its supreme court. Last month Vermont's judicial-conduct board accused three of five high-court justices -- Thomas Hayes, 60, William Hill, 69, and Ernest Gibson III, 59 -- of numerous violations of judicial ethics growing out of their allegedly improper efforts to help a lower-court colleague under investigation. Charges against a majority of a supreme court are hardly everyday occurrences, and the move has given taciturn Vermonters...
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