Highest court in the U.S. state of Vermont
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 consists of a
chief justice
and four
associate justices
; the Court mostly hears
appeals
of cases that have been decided by other courts. The Supreme Court justices are appointed by the
Governor of Vermont
with confirmation by the
Vermont Senate
. When a judicial vacancy occurs, the
judicial nominating board
submits to the governor the names of as many persons as it deems qualified for appointment.
[2]
All Supreme Court justices come up for
retention
at the same time every six years. The next retention date is March 31, 2029.
[3]
The Joint Committee on Judicial Retention reviews a justice's performance during the previous term and recommends to the
Vermont General Assembly
whether the justice should be retained. The committee consists of four
House
members appointed by the
Speaker
of the House and four Senate members appointed by the Committee on Committees. After open debate and discussion, the General Assembly votes by secret ballot, with a majority having to vote against reappointment for a justice to be denied another term.
[4]
In addition to the retention process, any Vermont judge may be removed at any time in one of two ways: (1) Judges may be impeached by a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly and convicted by a two-thirds vote of the Senate, and (2) a Judicial Conduct Board investigates complaints of judicial misconduct or disability and recommends any necessary action to the Supreme Court.
[5]
Members of the
Judiciary of Vermont
must retire at the age of 90.
[6]
The current chief justice is
Paul L. Reiber
. Reiber was appointed Associate Justice in October 2003 by Gov.
Jim Douglas
and then sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Court on December 17, 2004.
[7]
The Vermont Supreme Court has overall administrative control of the court system and makes administrative and procedural rules for all courts.
Building
[
edit
]
The Vermont Supreme Court meets in a granite
Beaux Arts
-style building in
Montpelier
, just east of the
Vermont State House
and immediately west of
The Pavilion Office Building
.
The building site was the original site of the first Vermont State Building, a three-story wooden colonial
Georgian
structure, built in 1808 by Sylvanus Baldwin.
[8]
Composition
[
edit
]
Justice
|
Born
|
Joined
|
Term ends
|
Appointed by
|
Law school
|
Paul Reiber
,
Chief Justice
|
(
1947-06-20
)
June 20, 1947
(age 77)
|
October 2003
[a]
|
2029
|
Jim Douglas
(R)
|
Suffolk
|
Harold Eaton Jr.
|
(
1955-08-25
)
August 25, 1955
(age 68)
|
October 27, 2014
|
2029
|
Peter Shumlin
(D)
|
Vermont
|
Karen Carroll
|
(
1963-02-07
)
February 7, 1963
(age 61)
|
April 26, 2017
|
2029
|
Phil Scott
(R)
|
Vermont
|
William D. Cohen
|
(
1957-01-21
)
January 21, 1957
(age 67)
|
December 20, 2019
|
2029
|
Phil Scott
(R)
|
Vermont
|
Nancy Waples
|
(
1960-10-07
)
October 7, 1960
(age 63)
|
April 15, 2022
|
2029
|
Phil Scott
(R)
|
St. John's
|
- ^
Became Chief Justice on December 17, 2004.
History
[
edit
]
The original constitution called for a "
Council of Censors
" which provided oversight for the court and its membership. The Council was abolished in 1870.
[9]
Prominent individuals who have served as Chief Justice include
Governor
and
United States Senator
Moses Robinson
; Senator
Nathaniel Chipman
; Governor and Senator
Isaac Tichenor
; Governor and Senator
Jonathan Robinson
; playwright
Royall Tyler
; Governor
Richard Skinner
; Senator
Dudley Chase
; Governor
Cornelius P. Van Ness
; Senator
Samuel Prentiss
; Governor
Charles K. Williams
; Governor
Stephen Royce
;
Congressman
Luke P. Poland
; Congressman
Homer Royce
; Senator
Jonathan Ross
; and
U.S. District Court Judge
Franklin S. Billings Jr.
Olin M. Jeffords
, the father of Senator
James M. Jeffords
, served as Chief Justice from 1955 to 1958.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Supreme Court | Vermont Judiciary"
.
www.vermontjudiciary.org
. Retrieved
October 13,
2018
.
- ^
"Judicial Nomination Board"
. April 17, 2022.
- ^
"The Vermont Statutes Online: Title 4: Judiciary"
. Vermont General Assembly.
- ^
"Judicial Retention Committee"
. April 17, 2022.
- ^
"Removal of Justices"
. April 17, 2022.
- ^
"Mandatory Retirement"
.
Ballotpedia.org
. Middleton, WI: Lucy Burns Institute
. Retrieved
July 29,
2020
.
- ^
"Reiber appointment to Associate Justice (2003), then to Chief Justice (2004)"
. Archived from
the original
on August 12, 2007
. Retrieved
May 10,
2007
.
- ^
"Archived copy"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on August 24, 2015
. Retrieved
February 6,
2015
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
Gillies, Paul, ed. (1991).
Records of the Council of Censors of the State of Vermont
(PDF)
.
External links
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]
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