VT Supreme Court Declares Judicial Emergency & Adopts Emergency Procedures

Note:  I posted this on March 16 in response to the Supreme Court’s order of the same date. The Court issued an amended order on March 18.  I’ve updated that below.

*********

Today, the Vermont Supreme Court declared a judicial emergency and adopted changes to state court procedures in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Court’s order is here.  Please read it yourself.  A summary:

• the order goes into effect immediately.
• the order extends until April 15, 2020, or until further order of the Court.
• the order supersedes all COVID-19 orders previously issued by the Vermont Supreme Court and the Vermont Superior Courts.
• effective March 17, 2020, all nonemergency Superior Court hearings, both evidentiary and non-evidentiary, are postponed (there are exceptions, listed in the order).
• Judicial Bureau hearings are postponed.
• In non-evidentiary hearings that have not been postponed, parties and counsel may appear by telephone without seeking permission by motion.  Read the order for more details, including who is responsible for calling the court and comments on situations in which video participation may be feasible.
• Section 6 of the order authorizes certain filings by email even in courts that do not yet require electronic filings.  See the order for details.
• Section 7 outlines how access to court buildings will be handled.

Again, my summary is not a substitute for reading the order, which is here.

The original order was amended on March 18.  The amended order is here.