The system that routinely seeks jail time, license suspension, and lasting records for ordinary DUI defendants has spent over a year allowing an elected prosecutor who drove drunk to a death scene to keep her job, her license, and a path to a clean record. Only when the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the state bar’s disciplinary counsel finally moved did the gap become impossible to ignore.
Eva Vekos’ DUI Plea Exposes a System That Punishes the Many and Protects Its Own
Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos pleaded no contest to driving under the influence in December 2025 and received a six-month deferred sentence. The charge stemmed from January 25, 2024, when she arrived at a suspicious death investigation in Bridport while intoxicated. According to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, state troopers detected the odor of alcohol and slurred speech; Vekos refused field sobriety tests and a breath sample. VTDigger reported that she later claimed she had had “one gin and tonic” with dinner. The deferred disposition allows her conviction to be cleared if she commits no violations during the six-month period, an outcome that would leave her with no criminal record from the incident.
The Vermont Attorney General’s Office objected to the plea deal. At sentencing, Assistant Attorney General Rosemary Kennedy argued that Vekos received special treatment because of her position as a prosecutor. Kennedy stated that the state did not believe Vekos had “owned up” and noted that as a prosecutor she understood the implications of refusing sobriety tests. The Burlington Free Press and Vermont Public both reported the state’s position that the disposition was inconsistent with how the system typically treats DUI defendants. VTDigger has covered the case from the 2024 arrest through the March 2026 filing by the Vermont Professional Responsibility Board’s disciplinary counsel, who is seeking immediate suspension of Vekos’ law license.
On March 11, 2026, Jon Alexander, disciplinary counsel for the Vermont Professional Responsibility Board, filed a 23-page document seeking immediate suspension of Vekos’ law license. The filing cites not only the DUI conviction but allegations that she abused her public office, attempted to improperly influence police officers, and interfered with the administration of justice in connection with the incident. A Vermont Supreme Court hearing on the suspension request is scheduled for March 19, 2026. The Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs has called on her to resign, and an independent investigation found “significant failures” in her professional and ethical obligations. WCAX and NBC5 have reported that Governor Phil Scott and leaders of Vermont’s Democratic, Progressive, and Republican parties have all called for her resignation; Vekos has said she does not plan to step down.
Precedent elsewhere shows that prosecutors who commit DUI, especially while invoking their office, often face serious professional consequences. In California, a State Bar judge recommended a two-year law license suspension for a former San Francisco prosecutor who had multiple DUI convictions and had used his prosecutor’s badge in attempts to avoid arrest. In El Dorado County, an assistant district attorney received a two-year suspension (with all but 60 days stayed) for DUI with a blood alcohol level over five times the legal limit; the discipline was aggravated by her specialized knowledge of DUI law. In Vermont, by contrast, the criminal case produced a deferred sentence that the state itself argued was special treatment, and the bar’s move toward suspension came more than a year after the plea.
Ethics complaints from crime victims have compounded the story. VTDigger and other outlets have reported that Vekos faced allegations of mishandling or mistreating victims in cases she prosecuted. The independent investigation that found “significant failures” in her ethical and professional obligations fed into the same pattern: the system moved slowly until the combination of a public DUI disposition and victim complaints made inaction unsustainable. Her attorney, David Sleigh, has said he will oppose the immediate suspension and that a typical sanction for a DUI conviction might be no more than a public reprimand. The disciplinary counsel’s filing, however, treats the circumstances as far more serious, noting that she committed the offense in the course of her public duties and that the alleged attempts to influence officers go to the integrity of the justice system.
What This Actually Means
The lesson is not that Vekos is uniquely villainous. It is that the same machinery that routinely demands harsh consequences for DUI defendants, and that holds defense counsel and judges to high standards in those cases, did not treat a prosecutor who drove drunk to a death scene as an urgent threat until external pressure mounted. The Attorney General’s objection, the disciplinary counsel’s filing, and the resignation calls from both parties came after the fact. The deferred sentence stands. The system protected one of its own until it became politically and professionally untenable to do so. That is the double standard: the rules are strict until they apply to the people who enforce them.
What Is a Deferred Sentence in a DUI Case?
A deferred sentence in this context means the court accepts a guilty or no-contest plea but delays entering a final conviction. If the defendant completes a period of probation without new violations, the charge can be dismissed or the conviction cleared, often leaving no permanent criminal record for that offense. Many jurisdictions offer deferred dispositions for first-time or low-level offenders. In Vermont, the six-month deferred period in Vekos’ case allows for exactly that outcome. Critics of their use for prosecutors and officials argue that the same option is often harder to obtain for ordinary defendants, that typical DUI defendants face license suspension, fines, and sometimes jail before any deferral is even considered, and that when a prosecutor who has sought stiff consequences for others receives a path to a clean record, it undermines public trust in even-handed justice. The Vermont Attorney General’s objection at sentencing put that concern on the record.
Sources
VTDigger – Lawyer for state panel seeks immediate suspension of embattled Addison County prosecutor (March 11, 2026).
Burlington Free Press – Addison prosecutor got special treatment in DUI sentence, says state (December 18, 2025).
Vermont Public – Addison County’s top prosecutor gets deferred sentence on DUI charge (December 16, 2025).
Vermont Attorney General – Eva Vekos sentenced for driving while under the influence of alcohol (December 16, 2025).
WPTZ/NBC5 – Gov. Scott, Vermont party leaders call for Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos to resign.