Title 04, Title 04: Judiciary

§ 20. Reports of decisions The reporter shall annually prepare the decisions of the Court for publication, read the proof, and superintend the printing and binding thereof. All causes decided shall be reported within one year after the decisions are made.

§ 21. Court Administrator The Office of Court Administrator is hereby created. He or she shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Supreme Court, which shall fix his or her salary and prescribe his or her duties from time to time. He or she shall devote full time to …

§ 21a. Duties of the Chief Superior Judge (a) The Chief Superior Judge shall assign and specially assign Superior judges, including themselves, and Environmental judges to the Superior Court. All Superior judges except Environmental judges shall be subject to the requirements of …

§ 22. Designation and special assignment of judicial officers and retired judicial officers (a)(1) The Chief Justice may appoint and assign a retired Justice or judge, with the Justice’s or judge’s consent, or a Superior or Probate judge to a special assignment on the Supreme Cou…

§ 23. Compensation In the performance of judicial duties, the specially assigned judicial officer shall be entitled to a per diem equal to the daily compensation authorized for the judicial position to which he or she is assigned and necessary expenses. An acting judge in Crimina…

§ 25. Judicial Branch; furlough days; administrative leave (a) The Supreme Court is authorized to declare up to 12 unpaid Judicial Branch furlough days in a fiscal year and on those days may close the courts in the State. For purposes of implementing a furlough day, the Supreme C…

§ 26. Half-time judges Of the Superior judge positions authorized by this title, up to two may be shared, each by two half-time judges. Of the magistrate positions authorized by this title, one may be shared by two half-time magistrates. Of the hearing officer positions authorize…

§ 27. Court Technology Special Fund There is established the Court Technology Special Fund that shall be managed in accordance with 32 V.S.A. chapter 7, subchapter 5. Administrative fees collected pursuant to 13 V.S.A. § 7252 and revenue collected pursuant to fees established pur…

§ 27a. Contracts for Internet service Every contract to provide broadband Internet access service, as defined in 3 V.S.A. § 348(d)(1), for the Judicial Branch shall include terms and conditions requiring that the Internet service provider certify that it is in compliance with the…

§ 27b. Self-attested declaration in lieu of notarization (a) Any document that would otherwise require the approval or verification of a notary may be filed with the following language inserted above the signature and date: “I declare that the above statement is true and accurate…

§ 28. Municipal Ticket Repayment Revolving Fund (a) The Municipal Ticket Repayment Revolving Fund is created for the purpose of facilitating the transfer of incorrectly deposited Judicial Bureau payments to the appropriate municipality. A municipality may request a loan from the …

§ 3. Judicial officers; administrative and disciplinary control The Supreme Court shall have administrative and disciplinary control of all judicial officers of the State, in addition to and not inconsistent with the constitutional powers of the General Assembly in those matters.…

§ 30. Superior Court (a)(1) A Superior Court having statewide jurisdiction is created. The Superior Court shall have the following divisions: (A) A Civil Division, which shall be a court of record and have jurisdiction over the matters described in section 31 of this title. The V…

§ 31. Jurisdiction; Civil Division The Civil Division shall have: (1) original and exclusive jurisdiction of all original civil actions, except as otherwise provided in sections 2, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 1102 of this title; (2) appellate jurisdiction of causes, civil and criminal, a…

§ 32. Jurisdiction; Criminal Division (a) The Criminal Division shall have jurisdiction to try, render judgment, and pass sentence in prosecutions for felonies and misdemeanors. (b) The Criminal Division shall have jurisdiction to try and finally determine prosecutions for violat…

§ 33. Jurisdiction; Family Division (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Family Division shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and dispose of the following proceedings filed or pending on or after October 1, 1990: (1) All desertion and support p…

§ 34. Jurisdiction; Environmental Division The Environmental Division shall have: (1) jurisdiction of matters arising under 10 V.S.A. chapters 201 and 220; (2) jurisdiction of matters arising under 24 V.S.A. chapter 61, subchapter 12 and chapter 117; and (3) original jurisdiction…

§ 35. Jurisdiction; Probate Division The Probate Division shall have jurisdiction of: (1) the probate of wills; (2) the settlement of estates; (3) the administration of trusts pursuant to Title 14A; (4) trusts of absent persons’ estates; (5) charitable, cemetery, and philanthropi…

§ 36. Composition of the court (a) Composition of the court. Unless otherwise specified by law, when in session, a Superior Court shall consist of: (1) For cases in the Civil or Family Division, one presiding Superior judge and two assistant judges, if available. (2)(A) For cases…

§ 37. Venue (a) The venue for all actions filed in the Superior Court, whether heard in the Civil, Criminal, Family, Environmental, or Probate Division, shall be as provided in law. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Supreme Court may promulgate venue rules, subj…

§ 38. Judicial Masters [Repealed] (Added 2015, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. June 6, 2016; amended 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. July 1, 2022; 2021, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 11, eff. May 31, 2022; repealed on July 1, 2025 by 2019, No. 77, § 25.)

§ 39. Capital budget requests; county courthouses [Subsection (a) effective until July 1, 2026; see also subsection (a) effective July 1, 2026 set out below.] (a) On or before October 1 each year, any county requesting capital funds for its courthouse, or court operations, shall …

§ 4. Justices (a) The Supreme Court shall consist of one Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, appointed in accordance with the Constitution and chapter 15 of this title or retained in office under subsection (c) of this section. (b) When the Office of Chief Justice becomes …

§ 40. Report on temporary employees Annually, on or before January 15, the State Court Administrator shall submit a report to the House Committees on General and Housing and on Government Operations and Military Affairs and the Senate Committee on Government Operations identifyin…

§ 41. Court security officers (a) Authorization. The Court Administrator shall define the scope of duties for Judiciary-employed Court Security Officers. The Court Administrator shall have direct authority over Judiciary-employed Court Security Officers and may authorize them to …

§ 5. Term of Justices (a) The term of the Justices, except in case of an appointment to fill a vacancy, shall be for a term of six years from and including April 1 in the year of such appointment or retention under subsection 4(c) of this title. When a Justice of the Supreme Cour…

§ 6. Disqualification of Justices A Justice of the Supreme Court shall not be an officer in a railroad, banking, or insurance corporation in this State.

§ 8. General and special terms The terms of the Supreme Court and times and places of those terms shall be stated by administrative order of the Supreme Court. The Court Administrator shall act as Clerk of the Supreme Court. (Amended 1963, No. 15, § 1; 1967, No. 174, § 1; 1979, N…

§ 111. Superior court sessions (a) When the business of a Superior Court cannot otherwise be disposed of with reasonable dispatch, by direction of the Chief Superior Judge, there may be held additional sessions of that Superior Court simultaneously with the regular session consis…

§ 115. Stated terms of Superior Court The Superior Court shall operate continuously irrespective of the term in which events occur. Terms are designated for purposes of determining the rotation schedule of Superior judges and the responsibility of a Superior judge once a term has…

§ 71. Appointment and term of Superior judges (a) The number of Superior judges shall be as determined by the General Assembly. The term of office of a Superior judge shall, except in the case of an appointment to fill a vacancy or unexpired term, begin on April 1 in the year of …

§ 72. Disqualification A Superior judge shall not be an officer in a railroad, banking, or insurance corporation in this State.

§ 73. Assignment (a) In accordance with the direction of the Supreme Court, the Chief Superior Judge shall assign the Superior judges among the units and divisions of the Superior Court. The Chief Superior Judge shall assign a presiding judge to each unit and may assign a judge t…

§ 75. Powers of Justice or Superior judge after expiration of term or vacation of office Whenever the term of office of a Justice, Superior judge, Environmental judge, magistrate, or hearing officer expires or he or she otherwise vacates the office, the Justice, judge, magistrate…

§ 219. Powers of chancellor The powers and jurisdiction of the courts that were previously vested in the courts of chancery are vested in the Superior Court. Superior, Environmental, and Probate judges have the powers of a chancellor in passing upon all civil matters that may com…

§ 272. Probate districts; Probate judges (a) There shall be one Probate district in each county, which shall be designated by the name of the county. Each Probate district shall elect one Probate judge. (b) To hold the position of Probate judge, a person shall be admitted by the …

§ 278. Authorization of assistant judges (a) An assistant judge or a candidate for the office of assistant judge may also seek election to the office of Probate judge and if otherwise qualified and elected to both offices, may serve both as an assistant judge and as Probate judge…

§ 311a. Venue generally For proceedings authorized to the Probate Division of Superior Court, venue shall lie as provided in Title 14A for the administration of trusts, and otherwise in a probate district as follows: (1) Decedent’s estate for a resident of this State: in the dist…

§ 312. Resident’s estate; settlement If an inhabitant of this State dies, his or her will shall be proved, or letters of administration granted and his or her estate settled in the Probate Court of the district in which he or she resided at the time of his or her death.

§ 313. Nonresident’s estate; settlement If a person resided out of the State at the time of his or her death, his or her will shall be allowed and recorded, and letters testamentary or of administration shall be granted in the Probate Court of any district in which he or she had …

§ 354. Disqualification of judge or register; penalty A judge or register shall not act as guardian, executor, administrator, trustee, or in any other fiduciary capacity or as attorney in any probate matter pending in any court in the State while holding either office. A judge or…

§ 355. Disqualification or disability of judge When a Probate judge is incapacitated for the duties of office by absence, removal from the district, resignation, sickness, death, or otherwise or if the judge or the judge’s spouse or child is heir or legatee under a will filed in …

§ 356. Authority of judge after end of term (a) A Probate judge whose term of office has expired, or who has vacated such office, shall have authority to act in the capacity of Probate judge to conclude causes and proceedings partly or fully heard before the judge as Probate judg…

§ 357. Registers of Probate The Superior Court clerk or court operations manager, in consultation with the Probate judge, and following the approval of the Court Administrator, shall hire a register of probate for each unit. The Probate judge may request that the Court Administra…

§ 362. Oaths A Probate judge or register may administer oaths. (Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 23, eff. Feb. 1, 2011.)

§ 363. Powers (a) A Probate judge may issue warrants, subpoenas, and processes in conformity with the law necessary to compel the attendance of witnesses or to produce books, papers, documents, or tangible things, or to carry into effect the orders, sentences, or decrees of the P…