Title 04, Title 04: Judiciary

§ 458. Venue The place of trial in the Family Division of the Superior Court shall be in the county in which one of the parties resides if one party resides within the State. If no party resides within the State, the place of trial may be in any county. (Added 1989, No. 221 (Adj.…

§ 459. Powers of assistant judges Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to restrict the constitutional powers of assistant judges. (Added 1989, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1990.)

§ 461. Office of magistrate; jurisdiction; selection; term (a) The office of magistrate is created within the Family Division of the Superior Court. Except as provided in section 463 of this title, the office of magistrate shall have nonexclusive jurisdiction to hear and dispose …

§ 461a. Essex County; powers of assistant judges and magistrates in Family Court proceedings (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an assistant judge of Essex County who has satisfactorily completed the training provided by the Vermont Supreme Court purs…

§ 461c. Powers of assistant judges in divorce proceedings (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an assistant judge may elect to hear and determine a complaint or action that seeks a divorce, legal separation, or civil union dissolution in cases where a f…

§ 462. Findings; orders; stipulations (a) The magistrate shall make findings of fact, conclusions, and a decision and shall issue an order. An order issued by a magistrate may be enforced by the Family Division of the Superior Court in the unit in which the magistrate hearing was…

§ 463. Jurisdiction of Family Division of Superior Court over child support Upon motion of either party, upon motion of the magistrate, or upon the court’s own motion, a judge of the Family Division of the Superior Court may hear and determine the issue of child support, provided…

§ 464. Representation (a) Any person or other legal entity, including the State, shall be entitled but not required to be represented by an attorney before a magistrate. Nonattorney employees of the Office of Child Support who have been duly qualified by the Office of Child Suppo…

§ 465. Appeals An appeal from a decision of a magistrate shall be on the record to the Family Division of the Superior Court. At the request of a party, the Family Court shall hear additional evidence. (Added 1989, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1990; amended 2009, No. 1…

§ 466. Procedure (a) A proceeding before a magistrate shall, in cases involving child support, be initiated by the filing of a petition. If a proceeding for divorce, annulment, or separation has been commenced before the Family Division of the Superior Court, the magistrate shall…

§ 467. Forms; Office of Child Support; IV-D services (a) The Court Administrator shall prepare and make available to the public forms for proceeding before a magistrate, including forms for the filing of an action, responding to a petition and filing motions. The purpose of the s…

§ 491. Qualification of justice of the peace—Filing of oath and certificate Before entering upon his or her duties, each justice shall deposit with the town clerk a copy of his or her official oath, signed by himself or herself, with a certificate of the magistrate or notary publ…

§ 492. Penalty When a justice willfully neglects to make such deposit with the town clerk, he or she may be fined not more than $100.00. (Amended 1981, No. 239 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.)

§ 500. Expiration of term of office; certified copies of records After the expiration of his or her term of office and while residing in the same county, a justice may make and certify copies of the records of his or her official business. Such copies shall have the same validity…

§ 601. Judicial Nominating Board created; composition (a) The Judicial Nominating Board is created for the nomination of Supreme Court Justices, Superior judges, magistrates, and the Chair and members of the Public Utility Commission. (b)(1) The Board shall consist of 12 members …

§ 602. Duties; justices, judges, magistrates, and the Chair of the Public Utility Commission (a)(1) Prior to submitting to the Governor the names of candidates for Justices of the Supreme Court, Superior Court judges, magistrates, and the Chair of the Public Utility Commission, t…

§ 602a. Duties; Public Utility Commission members (a) In accordance with 30 V.S.A. § 3, whenever a vacancy occurs for a member position on the Public Utility Commission, the Governor shall submit at least five names of potential nominees to the Judicial Nominating Board for revie…

§ 603. Appointment of justices, judges, magistrates, Public Utility Commission Chair, and members Whenever the Governor appoints a Supreme Court Justice, a Superior Judge, a magistrate, the Chair of the Public Utility Commission, or a member of the Public Utility Commission, the …

§ 605. Political activity by judges prohibited Superior judges shall not make any contribution to or hold any office in a political party or organization or take part in any political campaign. (Amended 1966, No. 64 (Sp. Sess.), § 6, eff. Jan. 1, 1967; 1971, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.) …

§ 607. Joint Committee on Judicial Retention; creation (a) There is created the Joint Committee on Judicial Retention composed of four members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House and four members of the Senate appointed by the Committee on Commit…

§ 608. Functions (a) Declarations submitted to the General Assembly by a Supreme Court Justice under subsection 4(c) of this title, by a Superior Court judge under subsection 71(b) of this title, or by a magistrate under subsection 461(c) of this title shall be referred immediate…

§ 609. Judicial retirement (a) The Justices of the Supreme Court and judges of all subordinate courts shall be required to retire at the end of the calendar year in which they attain 90 years of age. (b) This section shall not limit the Supreme Court’s power to establish procedur…

§ 651. Clerks of courts The Court Administrator shall act as clerk of the Supreme Court as provided in section 8 of this title. The Court Administrator shall appoint a Superior Court clerk for each unit. The Court Administrator may appoint the same person to be clerk in more than…

§ 657. Transcribing damaged records When records in the Office of the Superior Court Clerk become faded, defaced, torn, or otherwise injured, so as to endanger the permanent legibility or proper preservation of the same, the Court Administrator may direct the court clerk to provi…

§ 659. Preservation of court records (a) The Supreme Court by administrative order may provide for permanent preservation of all court records by any photographic or electronic or comparable process in accordance with standards that shall be no less protective of the records than…

§ 691. Clerks and assistants; appointment; compensation (a) The Superior Court clerk, with the approval of the Court Administrator, may hire and remove staff for the Superior Court subject to the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement. The clerks and staff shall …

§ 692. Powers of clerk in absence of judge In the absence of the judge: (1) the clerk may continue a cause; (2) the clerk may set conditions of release in noncapital criminal cases prior to trial as provided by law or by rule promulgated by the Supreme Court. (Amended 1973, No. 1…

§ 731. English language Writs, processes, complaints, informations, indictments, pleas, answers, and entries in the courts, except technical terms, shall be in the English language.

§ 732. Lost document or record When a court document, record, or file in an action pending in court is lost, mislaid, or destroyed, the court may order a duplicate document, record, or file to be filed under such conditions as the court prescribes. A duplicate document or record …

§ 733. Preservation of attachment liens When real or personal estate is attached on such writ, the plaintiff may procure from the clerk of the town in which the estate was attached a certified copy of the writ, complaint and officer’s return thereon, and cause the same to be file…

§ 739. Record certified by successor in office When a recording officer has made a record but has omitted to make an official certificate thereof, any person subsequently holding the office may make such certificate. Such certificate shall be as valid as if made by the officer wh…

§ 740. Court records; dockets; certified copies The Supreme Court by administrative order or directive shall provide for the preparation, maintenance, recording, indexing, docketing, preservation, and storage of all court records and the provision, subject to confidentiality requ…

§ 741. Payment by credit card (a) [Repealed.] (b) If any such card draft is not paid by the bank or other company or is charged back to the court or bureau, any record of payment made by the court or bureau honoring the card shall be void. The obligation of the person to pay the …

§ 794. Oath; correctness of reports and copies Upon appointment, a stenographic reporter shall be sworn before entering upon his or her duties and shall be responsible for the correctness of his or her reports and certified copies thereof made by him or her or under his or her di…

§ 795. Filing of copies of transcripts When directed by the presiding judge of a Superior Court so to do and within the time prescribed by such judge, such stenographic reporter shall file with the clerk thereof certified copies of the evidence and proceedings in a cause heard by…

§ 796. Transcripts for quasi-judicial proceedings A stenographic reporter shall furnish a verbatim and certified transcript of the evidence and proceedings in every hearing before a commission, department, or other quasi-judicial proceeding reported by him or her to the presiding…

§ 798. Probative force of transcripts All transcripts of evidence or proceedings in a cause or hearing tried in Superior Court or before an auditor, referee, or commissioner, ordered to be reported by a Probate or Superior judge, and made by or under the direction of the reporter…

§ 799. Probate Division reporters Upon request of a Probate judge, the Superior Court clerk shall appoint and assign a staff member to make a verbatim report of the proceeding in the Probate Division. (Amended 1979, No. 181 (Adj. Sess.), § 17; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 44a, e…

§ 801. Hearings before commissions and quasi-judicial tribunals In hearings before a commission, department, or other quasi-judicial proceedings, such tribunal shall hire stenographic reporters for the purpose of making verbatim reports of the proceedings when one of the parties …

§ 802. Approval of accounts The presiding officer of a State department, commission, board, or other agency shall approve the accounts of the stenographer or reporter in the proceeding referred to in section 801 of this title and shall forward the same to the Commissioner of Fina…

§ 803. Electronic recording equipment (a) Subject to any rules prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant to law, electronic sound or sound and video recording equipment may be used for the recording of any Superior Court or Judicial Bureau proceeding; testimony, objections, ruling…

§ 851. Appointment and powers of commissioners The Governor may appoint commissioners in other states and in foreign countries who shall hold office for five years unless sooner removed by him or her. They may take depositions, affidavits, and testimony to be used in any proceedi…

§ 852. Oath and bond Before entering upon his or her duties, each commissioner shall take and subscribe an oath of office before a magistrate of his or her locality and execute a bond to this State with sureties to the satisfaction of the Governor in the sum of $500.00, condition…

§ 901. Rules for admission of attorneys Justices of the Supreme Court shall make, adopt, and publish and may alter or amend rules regulating the admission of attorneys to the practice of law before the courts of this State.

§ 902. Board of Bar Examiners The Board of Bar Examiners shall consist of 11 voting members whose term of office shall be for four years and until a successor is appointed. Two members of the Board shall be laypersons not admitted to practice law in this or any other state. The S…

§ 906. Conflicting appointments; excuse from attending by Chief Superior Judge When an attorney is required to attend more than one trial, hearing, or other proceeding before a court or commission having judicial or quasi-judicial functions, or both, at times that conflict so tha…