Kranichfeld Appointed Franklin County State's Attorney

Bram Kranichfeld delivering a sermon at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Burlington Credit: Courtesy of Greg Merhar

Bram Kranichfeld will remain state’s attorney for Franklin County as the permanent successor to John Lavoie, who resigned last year during an impeachment probe, Gov. Phil Scott announced on Tuesday.

Kranichfeld — a veteran prosecutor, former Burlington city councilor and Episcopal priest — has been working as interim state’s attorney since September. Scott has now named him to the permanent post, which is up for reelection in 2027.

The office was thrust into turmoil when employees complained that former state’s attorney Lavoie frequently used sexist and crass language in the office. The Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs investigated the claims and published them when Lavoie refused to step down. Lawmakers then launched an impeachment inquiry, and Lavoie eventually resigned.

Before his appointment, Kranichfeld worked in the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office and in the Vermont Attorney General’s Office. He ran unsuccessfully to be the Democratic nominee for Burlington mayor in 2011. After Scott passed him over for an appointment as Chittenden County state’s attorney, Kranichfeld pursued a master of divinity degree at the Montréal Diocesan Theological College.

He was the priest-in-charge at All Saints Episcopal Church in South Burlington and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Vergennes when Scott tapped him for the interim position in Franklin County.

Among the many cases on the state’s attorney’s plate is a pending second-degree murder charge against Mbyayenge “Robbie” Mafuta, a young man with schizophrenia who is accused of killing his prison cellmate, Jeffrey Hall. Mafuta was arraigned on the charge last August, hours before Lavoie resigned his post.