The Judiciary of Vermont is the state court

system A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its open system (systems theory), environment, is described by its boundaries, str ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, charged with

Vermont law The Vermont Statutes Annotated is the official codification of the laws enacted by the General Assembly of the U.S. state of Vermont. Vermont Statutes *Title 1: General Provisions *Title 2: Legislature *Title 3: Executive *Title 3 Appendix: Exe ...

Vermont Constitution

The Vermont courts are established in the

Vermont Constitution The Constitution of the State of Vermont is the fundamental body of law of the U.S. state of Vermont, describing and framing its government. It was adopted in 1793 following Vermont's admission to the Union in 1791 and is largely based upon th ...

in sections 28-41 (Judiciary Department). The justices of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The court ...

and judges of all lower courts except assistant judges and probate judges serve for six-year terms, which are renewable following a majority retention vote in the

Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly", but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

. All Vermont Constitution provides for a

mandatory retirement Mandatory retirement also known as forced retirement, enforced retirement or compulsory retirement, is the set age at which people who hold certain jobs or offices are required by industry custom or by law to leave their employment, or retire. A ...

of Supreme Court justices and lower court judges at 90 years of age, as prescribed by law by the General Assembly, or if the General Assembly has not so provided by law at the age of 70 or at the end of the term of election during which they attain the age of 70. The constitution also provides that justices and judges be given a

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

as provided by law and that the chief justice "may from time to time appoint retired justices and judges to special assignments as permitted under the rules of the Supreme Court."

Supreme Court

The

is the

state supreme court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in ...

, based in the

state capital Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital city, capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals *List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population *List of national capitals by area *List of ...

of Montpelier. Because Vermont has no intermediate

appellate court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appel ...

s, it is the sole state appellate court, mainly hearing

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...

s on

questions of law In law, a question of law, also known as a point of law, is a question that must be answered by a judge and can not be answered by a jury. Such a question is distinct from a question of fact, which must be answered by reference to facts and eviden ...

from lower courts, although there are a few instances in which the Court has

original jurisdiction In common law legal systems, original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the S ...

. The Supreme Court also is responsible for administration of the Vermont court system; it makes state court procedural rules. The Supreme Court is established in the Vermont Constitution which provides in section 29 that the court shall consist of a chief justice and four

associate justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

s and in section 30 that: :The Supreme Court shall exercise appellate jurisdiction in all cases, criminal and civil, under such terms and conditions as it shall specify in rules not inconsistent with law. The Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction only as provided by law, but it shall have the power to issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of its appellate jurisdiction. The Supreme Court shall have administrative control of all the courts of the state, and disciplinary authority concerning all judicial officers and attorneys at law in the State. As of 2023, the chief justice was paid $201,150 and the associate justices were paid $191,977 annually.

County courts

The state constitution provides for the creation of lower courts that may have original and appellate jurisdiction and be divided into geographical and functional divisions, "as provided by law or by judicial rules adopted by the Supreme Court not inconsistent with law." The state constitution also provides that state courts may act as both

courts of law A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts gene ...

and

courts of equity A court of equity, also known as an equity court or chancery court, is a court authorized to apply principles of equity rather than principles of law to cases brought before it. These courts originated from petitions to the Lord Chancellor of E ...

. Vermont Statutes have established a number of courts, each exercising jurisdiction in one of the 14 Vermont counties. The courts are based in shire towns (County seats), where the

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

s are located. The

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

may earn $89,003.20 annually. The county

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

may earn $65,790.40 annually. In 2010 the court system was integrated. The criminal, civil, family and environmental courts became part of a new Superior Court. The Probate Court was merged with the family court in February 2011 and all applicable county employees became state employees.

Superior courts

Superior Courts exercise

exclusive jurisdiction Exclusive jurisdiction exists in civil procedure if one court has the power to adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts. The opposite situation is concurrent jurisdiction (or non-exclusive jurisdiction) in which more than one cour ...

over most civil cases, including

torts A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with c ...

and

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

s over

small claims Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it ma ...

of $5000 or less. Superior courts also reviews decisions of lower courts and appeals to administrative agency decisions. Three judges, a presiding judge and two assistant judges sit on each Superior Court. The assistant judges (or

side judge Side judge, or assistant judge, is a judicial position unique to the U.S. state of Vermont. There are two side judges in each of Vermont's 14 counties. Like lay judges, side judges are usually not legal professionals. Duties and responsibilities ...

s) are elected

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

officials, who sit with the judge in certain cases and are responsible for non-judicial county affairs as well, an unusual system unique to Vermont. Each Superior Court also has a

court clerk A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court and administering oaths ...

and deputy court clerk, appointed by the court. The Superior Court clerk is also the

county clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

and the clerk of the county court.

District courts

District Courts hear almost all criminal cases and a few civil cases, including civil suspension of

driver's license A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, ca ...

s and fish and wildlife,

traffic ticket A traffic ticket is a notice issued by a law enforcement official to a motorist or other road user, indicating that the user has violated traffic laws. Traffic tickets generally come in two forms, citing a moving violation, such as exceeding ...

, and

municipal ordinance A local ordinance is a law issued by a local government such as a municipality, county, parish, prefecture, or the like. Hong Kong In Hong Kong, all laws enacted by the territory's Legislative Council remain to be known as ''Ordinances'' () ...

violations. There are 17 District Court judges: one in each county except for Chittenden County (the most populous in the state), which has six. A district judge may earn $122,865 annually.

Family courts

Family court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...

s hear

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

matters, including

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

(

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning alm ...

desertion Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

, and separation);

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (state or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is ...

;

parent A parent is either the progenitor of a child or, in humans, it can refer to a caregiver or legal guardian, generally called an adoptive parent or step-parent. Parents who are progenitors are First-degree relative, first-degree relatives and have ...

age;

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

and orders of protection for

domestic abuse Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

victims; juveniles (

delinquency Delinquent may refer to: * Delinquent (royalist), Royalists whose estates had been seized during the English Civil War * A juvenile delinquent Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful b ...

, abuse and neglect) and commitments to the

Vermont State Hospital Vermont State Hospital, alternately known as the Vermont State Asylum for the Insane and the Waterbury Asylum, was a mental institution built in 1890 in Waterbury, Vermont to help relieve overcrowding at the privately run Vermont Asylum for th ...

, the state

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

. District Court judges, Superior Court judges, Family Court magistrates and assistant judges sit in Family Court. All Family Court matters except for child support are mainly decided by the presiding judge; child support orders are the responsibility of Family Court

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

s. No

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are increasingly used ...

s take place in Family Court. If one or both are available, side judges may sit with the presiding judge. In some jurisdictions, the Superior Court judge may be the presiding judge of the Family Court as well.

Probate courts

Probate Courts In Common law, common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal ...

deal with

probate In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the e ...

, wills and

testamentary trust A testamentary trust (sometimes referred to as a will trust or trust under will) is a trust which arises upon the death of the testator, and which is specified in their will. A will may contain more than one testamentary trust, and may address ...

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...

s, guardianship,

emancipation of minors Emancipation of minors is a legal mechanism by which a minor before attaining the age of majority is freed from control by their parents or guardians, and the parents or guardians are freed from responsibility for their child. Minors are norma ...

, uniform gifts to minors, and

name change Name change is the legal act by a person of adopting a new name different from their current name. The procedures and ease of a name change vary between jurisdictions. In general, common law jurisdictions have looser procedures for a name chan ...

s. There are 18 Probate Court judges, elected for four-year terms; Probate Court judges need not be attorneys. The clerk of the probate court is appointed. A typical salary for the judge is $51,542.40. A typical salary for the clerk is $30,721.60.

Vermont Environmental Court

The Vermont Environmental Court is a specialized court dealing with

environmental law Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...

. The Court hears appeals from municipal boards and commissions and appeals from Act 250 decisions as well as cases from the Agency of Natural Resources, Natural Resource Board, and municipal enforcement. There are two Environmental Court judges on the court, which is based in Barre.

Vermont Judicial Bureau

The Vermont Judicial Bureau is a specialized court with subject matter jurisdiction over civil violations of Vermont law and municipal ordinances. The Judicial Bureau operates under the supervision of the Vermont Supreme Court. Appeals from the Judicial Bureau are heard by the Criminal Division of the Vermont Superior Court. Appeals filed by the State are heard on the record. Appeals filed by a defendant may be on the record, de novo by judge, or de novo by jury at the option of the defendant. The Judicial Bureau operates under the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure, in particular V.R.C.P. 80.6. Civil violations include an array of decriminalized conduct involving operation of motor vehicles (traffic), hunting/fishing/trapping, possession of alcohol/tobacco/marijuana, hazing, lead paint abatement, unreasonable noise, animal cruelty, etc. Police officers, municipal officials designated by the legislative body of a municipality, county state's attorneys, the state attorney general, and certain other state executive branch officials have authority to prosecute civil violations. Defendants typically conduct their own defense, but may hire attorney at their own expense. Pre-trial motions and discovery are not allowed, unless permission has been granted by a judicial officer. At the merits hearing, both parties may call witnesses and offer exhibits. Witnesses may be compelled to appear by subpoena. The burden of proof is on the State or municipality to prove the alleged violation by clear and convincing evidence, meaning the truth of the facts asserted is highly probable. This burden is higher than the ordinary civil burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence, but lower than the criminal burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. If the State or municipality meets its burden of proof, the assessed penalties may include a fine, demerit points or suspension of a driver license or fish & wildlife license, and community service. Merits hearings and motion hearings are conducted throughout the State by various judicial officers, including a statewide Chief Hearing Officer, a statewide Hearing Officer, and several county Assistant Judges. Contempt hearings are conducted by Hearing Officers. Hearing Officers also sit in the Vermont Superior Court by special assignment. Hearing Officers are members of the Vermont Bar appointed by the Chief Superior Court Judge. Assistant Judges are citizens elected in their respective county of residence. The Judicial Bureau has one Clerk. The Clerk supervises the Court Operations Manager and a statewide administrative staff at the courthouse in White River Junction.

Budget

The judiciary system budget was approximately $30 million in 2009.

Notes

External links

Official website

Maximum salaries of Vermont State Officers including justices of the Supreme Court
{{Judiciaries of the United States Government of Vermont Vermont state courts