, former Attorney General and retired Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. , retired Vermont Supreme Court Justice. Voted the number one Vermont news story for 1987, chronicles the ethics scandal that shook the roots of the Vermont judiciary in the mid-1980s. The scandal led to Chittenden County Assistant Judge Jane Wheel becoming the first and only Vermont judge ever charged with a criminal felony. It also led to unprecedented charges of ethical misconduct against three highly respected Vermont Supreme Court justices, making it the first time a justice was charged with a violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct. follows the political and legal struggles as Judge Wheel found herself being investigated for misusing public funds, an investigation she charged was "politically motivated," and likened to the "Salem Witch trials." Charged criminally, Judge Wheel, her attorneys and the attorney general face off in an epic, month-long criminal trial involving testimony from Supreme Court justices, judges, politicians and court employees. At the same time, the state's Judicial Conduct Board formerly charged Supreme Court Justices Hill, Hayes and Gibson with twenty-four violations of judicial ethics. All of the allegations of misconduct centered on the justices' close personal relationship with Judge Wheel, and actions they took to protect her during the investigation, culminating in an unprecedented three-week ethics trial before the Judicial Conduct Board.