Marlboro ponders its next move after indictment vote

MARLBORO - While seeing President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney led away in handcuffs may be enough to motivate some towns to attempt to indict them for war crimes, the concrete steps to take after the vote need to be more down to earth.

A vote of 45 to 23 started the wheels rolling last Tuesday to pass a nonbinding resolution requesting the Marlboro Selectboard draft an indictment plan and pass it on to law enforcement.

The Selectboard met for its first official meeting Monday night and Jonathan Morse, the resident who originally brought up the discussion, attended to see what the board planned to do next.

Morse assured the board that "people in Brattleboro and around the country are working to see what can be done."

Brattleboro also approved a special article last week calling for the indictments.

Individuals calling for a federal indictment on a local level is a first, so there is no set path to take, let alone a guarantee that the idea is even legal.

Morse admitted that the idea was not necessarily meant to be realistic.

"I brought it up as another way to express displeasure with the way the Bush administration had handled the war. I can't ask you to do anything yet because I don't know of anything for you to do," Morse told the board Monday, but added that he was "hoping that you will give your blessing. I'm hoping you will stay open to an idea that perhaps the town could do something."

Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark said he would need the Selectboard to take action rather than making any arrests on the request of the residents at Town Meeting.

Even then, he said he would not make an arrest without probable cause. "I certainly would question whether I have the authority," he said. "At this point, I have not seen anything that would show probable cause. A public voice vote does not meet the requirement for probable cause."

Brattleboro attorney Bob Fisher said before the vote at a Selectboard meeting that the indictment would not be legally enforceable.

Marlboro Selectboard members were hesitant to act Monday night.

Member Gail MacArthur said she thought it was "a great discussion," but because it wasn't a warned article, residents who might have wished to speak about it but didn't know it was coming were not represented. "They didn't have a chance."

Newly appointed Chairwoman Lucy Gratwick agreed. "For us to speak for the town with that number of votes makes me uneasy."

This did not mean she personally disagreed with the statement, but she was elected to represent the town, she said. "My opinion as a private citizen is one thing and my response as a public official is a little different. I'm not sure what we should do."

She stressed that the board is "certainly not closing the door," but asked that Morse make an effort to hear a more inclusive opinion of the community.