RUTLAND — In a brief status conference on the pending criminal case of Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer held Wednesday morning in Rutland Superior Court, attorneys in the case discussed the timeline for discovery and the judge in the case scheduled another hearing in 30 days.
Palmer was arrested in late January on multiple felony charges of sexual misconduct. He pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice, two felony counts of aggravated stalking with a deadly weapon, a felony count of lewd and lascivious conduct and two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution at his arraignment on Jan. 28 in Rutland Superior Court.
Judge Cortland Corsones presided over Wednesday’s hearing in person in Rutland. Bennington County Deputy State’s Attorney Jared Bianchi, the prosecutor in the case, and Palmer’s Chelsea-based defense attorney, Daniel Sedon, attended virtually via Webex.
Palmer did not attend in person. His name did not appear on the Webex screens in the courtroom to indicate he was participating remotely.
Sedon asked whether the prosecution will be providing any additional electronic evidence gathered from the ongoing investigation by Vermont State Police.
“We know that there’s a fair amount of internet service provider and telecommunication records that were subpoenaed,” Sedon said. “We don’t know what’s been done by way of that in terms of investigation and whether there’s been actual phone forensics, et cetera.”
Sedon further asked for a timeline for obtaining more “material” from investigators.
Bianchi said he does “expect more and therefore (will) produce more when I have it.” At this point, though, he said he doesn’t have a timeline.
Corsones asked that Sedon file a felony discovery order to obtain any additional evidence against Palmer from the state before the next scheduled status conference, which he initially set for 60 days from Wednesday’s hearing, but rescheduled for 30 days at Sedon’s request.
The next hearing will take place in Rutland, but an official date and time has not yet been set by the court.
Phone and email efforts to reach Palmer, Sedon and Bianchi were not successful this week.
The sexual misconduct charges stemmed from an ongoing probe launched into the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department’s finances in fall 2025. The finance probe remains ongoing, State Police have said.
Palmer continues to hold the position of Windsor County sheriff, which he was elected to in 2022, despite calls from the governor and legislators for his resignation and the temporary suspension of his law enforcement credentials by the Vermont Criminal Justice Council.
