Jeffrey Amestoy

Jeffrey L. Amestoy (born July 24, 1946) is an American retired jurist from Vermont. He served as Vermont Attorney General from 1985 to 1997 and as chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1997 to 2004. Amestoy is noted for having authored the majority opinion in Baker v. Vermont, the 1999 Vermont Supreme Court decision that led to the legalization of civil unions for same-sex partners in Vermont in 2000. Biography Jeffrey Amestoy was born in Rutland, Vermont. He has Basque ancestry on his father's side. He received a B.A. from Hobart College in Geneva, New York, his J.D. from Hastings Law School at the University of California, and his Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University. He served in the United States Army Reserve from 1968 to 1974. A Republican, Amestoy served as counsel to the Governor of Vermont’s Commission on the Administration of Justice from 1974 to 1976. He went on to become an assistant attorney general, a chief prosecutor of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Division, and a commissioner of labor and industry. In 1984, Amestoy ran successfully for Vermont Attorney General, defeating state Representative Bruce M. Lawlor in the general election. He served as attorney general from 1985 to 1997.