Vermont Assistant Judges: We Do a Lot.
County Government
Vermont is the only state in the union where municipal functions such as roads, parks, schools, jails, law enforcement, and economic development matters are assigned to the 251 towns or larger cities. Very few functions have been left to Vermont’s fourteen counties. Yet, there are a number of critical governmental functions and services for which Vermont counties are responsible.
All county officials are on the ballot every four years in the off-presidential election cycle. That means that the assistant judges, the probate judge, the sheriff, and the state’s attorney are all elected and accountable to the citizens.
Title 24 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated enumerate all of the laws that apply to county government. Assistant judges are the county executives. In fact, we are the only elected officials in the country in which executive, legislative and judicial functions are vested in one individual.
The authority of assistant judges to perform their county and judicial roles are expressly granted by statute.
24 V.S.A. Sections 71a and 131 provide for the care, maintenance and use of county buildings, chief among them the county courthouse.
In order to do this, and to provide support for the sheriff’s department pursuant to 23 V.S.A. Section 73 The assistant judges create an annual budget. Once again, the process for public hearings for the county budget are laid out in statute.
Yearly, in December and January, the assistant judges prepare a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, determining both income and expenses. A preliminary public budget hearing is held in December and open for public comment on the proposed budget. The county annual meeting must be held in January at which time the final budget is presented to the public by the assistant judges. These public meetings are warned and copies of the budget are available from the county clerk.
Income is derived from a tax assessment on each town based on the value of the town’s equalized grand list. Various other income is included such as rents, passport fees, small claims fees, and storage of wills.
Each county supports its sheriff’s department in its yearly budget. Amounts are also budgeted for the assistant judge salaries, utilities, buildings and grounds maintenance, personnel (each county employs a county clerk and county treasurer, by statute), equipment and supplies, insurance, legal and auditing expenses, and more. Counties may also budget for capital improvements by building a capital reserve fund. A copy of the current budget may be obtained by contacting the county clerk.
Our Judicial Functions
Assistant judges also have a judicial function. They sit as finders of fact in civil and family court, along side of the presiding superior court judge—hence the name: ‘Side Judge.’
4 V.S.A section 36 sets forth the jurisdiction of assistant judges in civil and family court.
In all court proceedings, the assistant judges are finders of fact. They do exactly what a jury does: determine who to believe; what weight to give various pieces of evidence; how to resolve conflicting evidence. The presiding judge then applies those facts to the law and the Court issues a decision which is signed by all three judges.
With additional training as set forth in statutes, the assistant judges may qualify to sit by themselves as hearing officers in the Judicial Bureau where all traffic violations are adjudicated as well as sitting alone to hear uncontested divorce proceedings.
Both of these roles are vital to the smooth functioning of the Vermont court system and help to provide access to justice for Vermont’s citizens.
