Vermont Supreme Court
Encyclopedia
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
and is one of seven state courts of Vermont.
The Court consists of a chief justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
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
Governor of Vermont
The Governor of Vermont is the governor of the U.S. state of Vermont. The governor is elected in even numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years; Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold gubernatorial elections every two years, instead of every four...
with confirmation by the Vermont Senate
Vermont Senate
The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The Senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-member districts, three three-member districts, and one...
. 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. All Supreme Court justices come up for retention at the same time every six years. The next retention year is 2011. The Joint Committee on Judicial Retention reviews a justice's performance during the previous term and recommends to the Vermont General Assembly
Vermont General Assembly
The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the U.S. state of Vermont. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself...
whether the justice should be retained. The committee consists of four House members appointed by the Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
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. Vermont judges may be removed 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.
The current chief justice is Paul L. Reiber
Paul Reiber
Paul L. Reiber is the Chief Justice on the Vermont Supreme Court. Reiber graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in 1970 and from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts in 1974. Reiber was in private practice in Rutland until becoming a partner in Kenlan, Schweibert & Facey in 1986....
. Reiber was appointed Associate Justice in October 2003 by Gov. Jim Douglas
Jim Douglas
James H. Douglas is an American politician from the U.S. state of Vermont. A Republican, he was elected the 80th Governor of Vermont in 2002 and was reelected three times with a majority of the vote...
and then sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Court on December 17, 2004.
The Vermont Supreme Court has overall administrative control of the court system and makes administrative and procedural rules for all courts.
The Vermont Supreme Court meets in a granite Beaux Arts style building in Montpelier
Montpelier, Vermont
Montpelier is a city in the U.S. state of Vermont that serves as the state capital and the shire town of Washington County. As the capital of Vermont, Montpelier is the site of the Vermont State House, seat of the legislative branch of Vermont government. The population was 7,855 at the 2010...
just east of the Vermont State House
Vermont State House
The Vermont State House, located in Montpelier, is the state capitol of Vermont and the seat of the Vermont General Assembly. The current Greek Revival structure is the third building on the same site to be used as the State House...
and immediately west of the The Pavilion Office Building
The Pavilion (government building)
The Pavilion is the principal workplace of the Governor of Vermont, located at 109 State Street in Montpelier, capital of the U.S. state of Vermont. The building is built in the French Second Empire style, and houses the working offices, reception room, press briefing room, and living apartments of...
.
Membership
| Title | Name | Joined the Court | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice | Paul L. Reiber Paul Reiber Paul L. Reiber is the Chief Justice on the Vermont Supreme Court. Reiber graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in 1970 and from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts in 1974. Reiber was in private practice in Rutland until becoming a partner in Kenlan, Schweibert & Facey in 1986.... |
2003 | Jim Douglas Jim Douglas James H. Douglas is an American politician from the U.S. state of Vermont. A Republican, he was elected the 80th Governor of Vermont in 2002 and was reelected three times with a majority of the vote... |
| Associate Justice | John Dooley | 1987 | Madeleine M. Kunin Madeleine M. Kunin Madeleine May Kunin is a Swiss-American diplomat and politician. She was the 77th Governor of Vermont from 1985 until 1991, as a member of the Democratic Party. She also served as United States Ambassador to Switzerland from 1996 to 1999. She was Vermont's first and, to date, only female governor... |
| Associate Justice | Marilyn Skoglund | 1997 | Howard Dean Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S... |
| Associate Justice | Brian L. Burgess | 2005 | Jim Douglas Jim Douglas James H. Douglas is an American politician from the U.S. state of Vermont. A Republican, he was elected the 80th Governor of Vermont in 2002 and was reelected three times with a majority of the vote... |
| Associate Justice | Beth Robinson Beth Robinson Beth Robinson is an American lawyer from Vermont who was appointed in October 2011 to the Vermont Supreme Court. Her nomination, made by Governor Peter Shumlin, requires confirmation from the Vermont Senate although, according to the Burlington Free Press, this is "seen as assured"... |
2011 | Peter Shumlin |