After graduation from Hobart, Amestoy served his country from 1968-74 in the United States Army Reserve. He then returned to his home state of Vermont where he worked as: counsel to the Governor's Commission on the Administration of Justice from 1974-76; assistant attorney general, 1977-78; chief prosecutor, Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Division, 1978-81; and commissioner of labor and industry, 1982-84. In 1984, he was elected Attorney General of Vermont and subsequently was re-elected six times. In five of those elections he was nominated by both the Republican and Democratic parties. As attorney general, Amestoy initiated reforms on Vermont criminal laws dealing with bail, domestic violence, child abuse, white collar crime, environmental enforcement, consumer fraud civil rights and hate crimes. Under his leadership, the Vermont Attorney General's Office was nationally recognized for it environmental protection litigation.
Says J. Wallace Malley Jr., who served as Amestoy's deputy attorney general for four years: "He's someone who has avoided cynicism in public office because he carries with him a dream that we can and should improve society."
In 1997, Amestoy became the 38th Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. Soon after, he wrote a majority opinion recognizing the legal rights of same-sex couples, the first of its kind in the country. He resigned his position effective August, 2004.
Amestoy served as President of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) in 1992-1993 and chaired NAAG's state constitutional law project, environmental committee and executive committee. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Conference of Chief Justices and serves on the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Evidence.
He resides in Waterbury Center, Vt., with his wife Susan and three children Katherine, Christina and Nancy.
Contribution: As Vermont Chief Justice, Amestoy wrote a majority opinion recognizing legal rights of same-sex couples.
Hometown: Rutland, Vt.
College Activities: Interfraternity Council (Phi Kappa Tau) and Druid Society
Major: Political Science
Other Education: Hastings Law School, University of California, San Francisco, Calif. (J.D. 1972); John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. (M.P.A., 1982).