side judge

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While Family, District and Superior Court judges are appointed by the Governor, probate and side judges are elected. Side judges run at-large (not specifically for one of the two seats) and county-wide in November of even-numbered, non-presidential election years, and serve four-year terms. The terms begin on the following February 1.Vermont Superior Court, [http://info.libraries.vermont.gov/supct/current/eo2009-449.html In re Assistant Judge Calvin Colby] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112061345/http://info.libraries.vermont.gov/supct/current/eo2009-449.html |date=2015-01-12 }}, December 14, 2009

In the event of a vacancy, the Governor is empowered to appoint a replacement.Domenic Poli, Brattleboro Reformer, [http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_21288314/gov-appoints-barnett-windham-county-side-judge Gov. Appoints Barnett as Windham County Side Judge] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116182530/http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_21288314/gov-appoints-barnett-windham-county-side-judge |date=2014-01-16 }}, August 11, 2012

Side judges sit with the judge in Superior (civil cases and violations of traffic laws and municipal ordinances) and Family Court. There are Superior and Family Courts located in each of Vermont's 14 counties at their "shire town" or county seat.State of Vermont Judiciary, [https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/GTC/civil/default.aspx Vermont Superior Court: Civil Division], retrieved January 16, 2014State of Vermont Judiciary, [https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/GTC/Family/default.aspx State of Vermont Judiciary: family Court], retrieved January 16, 2014

There are normally two side judges on the bench, but the court may proceed with only one side judge or none. In theory the side judges, who are generally not attorneys, have input only on matters of fact, with matters of law left to the presiding judge, but the vote of a side judge has the same weight as that of the judge, so two side judges can outvote the judge. If there is only one side judge and the side judge and the judge disagree on a matter of fact, a mistrial is declared.Brattleboro Reformer, [http://www.reformer.com/ci_14849385?source=most_emailed Disorder in the Courts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116180239/http://www.reformer.com/ci_14849385?source=most_emailed |date=2014-01-16 }}, April 9, 2010 Side judges who undergo some training may also sit alone in small claims, uncontested divorces, traffic offenses, and violations of municipal ordinances.Cornelia Cesari, Randolph Herald, [http://www.ourherald.com/news/2007-12-06/Front_page/f03.html ‘Side Judges’ Wear Two Hats] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116183657/http://www.ourherald.com/news/2007-12-06/Front_page/f03.html |date=2014-01-16 }}, December 6, 2007

Side judges have administrative duties in addition to court responsibilities. They appoint the County Clerk, Treasurer and Auditor, Road Commissioners, and Notaries Public, manage the county courthouse, sheriff's office and other property, and prepare the county budget.State of Vermont, [http://www.leg.state.vt.us/statutes/fullchapter.cfm?Title=24&Chapter=005 The Vermont Statutes Online], Title 24: Municipal and County Government, Chapter 5: County Officers; Powers and Duties, Sub-Chapter 1: Assistant Judges, retrieved January 17, 2014 As a result, side judges receive two types of compensation: a salary for their administrative duties, paid by the county, and a per diem for their judicial duties, paid by the state.Mitch Wertlieb, Vermont Public Radio, [http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/86832/assistant-judges-against-proposal-to-reduce-duties/ Assistant Judges Against Proposal To Reduce Duties], January 7, 2010

Once the county budget has been determined, municipalities in the county are assessed a portion, based on their grand list (total evaluation of property in the municipality).{{Cite news | first=Joseph | last=Gresser | title=Side judges see $50,000 bump in county budget | newspaper=The Chronicle | location=Barton, Vermont | pages= 16 | date=December 19, 2012 }}

Vermont's Assistant Judges also have a professional association and lobbying group, the Vermont Association of County Judges.Vermont Association of County Judges, [http://www.vtassistantjudges.com/2013/ Home Page: Vermont Association of County Judges] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117003501/http://www.vtassistantjudges.com/2013/ |date=2014-01-17 }}, retrieved January 16, 2014

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The position of side judge was part of Vermont's government during the mid to late 1700s period of the Vermont Republic, and was continued in the Vermont Constitution when Vermont was admitted to the Union as the fourteenth state in 1791.Vermont Archives and records Administration, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120725151010/http://vermont-archives.org/govhistory/constitut/con77.htm Vermont Constitution of 1777, Section XXVII]}}, retrieved January 16, 2014Vermont Archives and records Administration, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20140220020826/http://vermont-archives.org/govhistory/constitut/con93.htm Vermont Constitution of 1793, Section 9th]}}, retrieved January 14, 2014

The idea of side judges appear to have been borrowed from the colony of Pennsylvania, and they were also part of the judiciary in other states, including New Hampshire and Connecticut.David W. Belisle, [https://archive.org/details/historyofindepen00beli_0/page/172 History of Independence Hall], 1859, page 172Franklin Ellis, Samuel Evans, [https://books.google.com/books?id=WsQxAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22assistant+judge%22+pennsylvania+colony&pg=PA226 History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania], 1883, page 226National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Pennsylvania, [https://archive.org/details/registerpennsyl00penngoog/page/n239 Register of Pennsylvania Society], 1907, page 227 In Vermont, they were created in part because early Vermont residents were distrustful of lawyers, many of whom had received their training in England before the American Revolution, making their loyalty suspect, or had supported New York during the dispute between New York's colonial government and Vermont's original white settlers over control of Vermont's first towns. The founders of Vermont had purchased their land grants from Benning Wentworth, the Governor of New Hampshire. When the British government supported New York's attempts to assert control, those with New Hampshire land grants refused to re-purchase them from New York. Adding lay judges to the courts was a means of ensuring that pro-British or pro-New York judges could not control the courts.Vermont Bar Association, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cqI4AQAAIAAJ&q=resentment The Vermont Bar Journal & Law Digest], Volume 16, 1990, page 5Jerome Alan Cohen, [https://books.google.com/books?id=LzYXfcS08kkC&dq=vermont+%22assistant+judge%22+distrust+lawyers&pg=PA434 The Criminal Process in the People's Republic of China, 1949-1963], Volume 2, 1968, page 434

Though reorganization of the judiciary in other states eliminated the side judge position, It has continued in Vermont. Some updates and changes to Vermont's court system included elimination or a reduced role for the side judges, but most of those efforts have been unsuccessful.Jesse Roman, Stowe Today, [http://www.stowetoday.com/stowe_reporter/news/local_news/article_e3309b9a-5503-5c03-b779-3bbde8c27f66.html?mode=jqm Side Judges Fight Against Extinction: Efficiency Study Favors Eliminating the Elected Posts], July 10, 2013Caledonian Record, [http://caledonianrecord.com/Main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=47519 Judicial Plan Doesn't Cut Side Judges] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20140117130342/http://caledonianrecord.com/Main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=47519 |date=2014-01-17 }}, November 16, 2009

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• David M. Camp, Lieutenant Governor from 1836 to 1841, Orleans County Assistant Judge, 1830 to 1832 and 1834 to 1835.[https://books.google.com/books?id=G0QMAQAAMAAJ&dq=Biography+of+the+Bar+of+Orleans+County,+Vermont%5D,+by+Frederick+W.+Baldwin+manning&pg=PA59 Biography of the Bar of Orleans County, Vermont], by Frederick W. Baldwin, 1886, pages 59 to 64
• William Chamberlain, United States Representative, 1803 to 1805, 1809 to 1811, Orange County Assistant Judge, 1795–1796.{{cite web|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000280|title=William Chamberlain|publisher= Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate= January 12, 2014}}
• Augustine Clarke, Vermont State Treasurer from 1833 to 1837, Caledonia County Assistant Judge, 1824–1825.Hamilton Child, [https://books.google.com/books?id=GkcjAQAAMAAJ&q=admission&pg=PA38 Gazetteer of Caledonia and Essex Counties, Vt. 1764–1887], 1887, page 38
• Charles S. Dana, Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1917 to 1921, Addison County Assistant Judge, 1908–1912.Vermont Legislative Directory, published by Vermont Secretary of State, 1919, page 511
• Edward H. Edgerton, President pro tempore of the Vermont State Senate from 1925 to 1927, Windsor County Assistant Judge, 1913–1921.Vermont Secretary of State, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wuotAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Edward+h+Edgerton%22 Legislative Directory], 1923, page 410
• Abram W. Foote, Lieutenant Governor from 1921 to 1923, Assistant Judge of Addison County from 1902 to 1906.Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1921, page 452
• Jonas Galusha, Governor of Vermont from 1809 to 1813 and 1815 to 1820, Assistant Judge of Bennington County from 1795 to 1798.{{cite book |last= White|first=Pliny H. |date= 1866|title= Jonas Galusha, the Fifth Governor of Vermont|url=https://archive.org/stream/jonasgalushafift00whit#page/n11/mode/2up |publisher= Vermont Historical Society, publisher, E. P. Walton, printer |page= 10}}
• William Hunter, United States Representative, 1817 to 1819, Assistant Judge of Windsor County, 1805–1816.{{cite web|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000990|title=William Hunter|publisher= Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate= January 12, 2014}}
• Elias Keyes, United States Representative from 1821 to 1823, Assistant Judge of Windsor County, 1803 to 1814.{{cite web|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000160|title=Elias Keyes|publisher= Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate= January 12, 2014}}
• William C. Kittredge, Lieutenant Governor from 1852 to 1853, Rutland County Assistant Judge, 1833–1839.National Life Insurance Company, [https://books.google.com/books?id=6F7PAAAAMAAJ&q=%22assistant+judge%22 National Life Insurance Company: A History of Its Foundation and Development 1850–1925], 1925, page 30
• Aaron Leland, Lieutenant Governor from 1822 to 1827, Windsor County Assistant Judge, 1803–1817, 1818–1822.Lewis Cass Aldrich, Frank R. Holmes, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofwindsor00aldr#page/194/mode/2up History of Windsor County, Vermont], 1891, pages 183–184
• Orlando L. Martin, Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1923 to 1925, Washington County Assistant Judge, 1939 to his death.Vermont Archives and Records Administration, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120415001447/http://vermont-archives.org/govhistory/Officials/pdf/speakersHouse.pdf Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives, 1870–2009]}}, 2009, page 5
• Samuel Mattocks, Vermont State Treasurer from 1786 to 1800, Rutland County Assistant Judge, 1783–1788, 1794.Vermont General Assembly, [https://books.google.com/books?id=2sQgAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22samuel+mattocks%22+vermont+house+representatives+1781+1785&pg=PA77 Records of the Governor and Council of the State of Vermont], Volume III, 1875, pages 77–78
• Gideon Olin, United States Representative, 1803–1807, Assistant Judge of Bennington County, 1781–1798.{{cite book |last= Olin|first=Chauncey C. |date=1893 |title= A Complete Record of the John Olin Family|url= https://archive.org/details/acompleterecord00olingoog|quote= gideon olin assistant judge.|publisher= Baker–Randolph Co.|page= [https://archive.org/details/acompleterecord00olingoog/page/n38 27]}}
• William M. Pingry, Vermont Auditor of Accounts from 1853 to 1860, Assistant Judge in both Washington (1838–1839) and Windsor (1880 to his death) Counties.Matt Bushnell Jones, [https://archive.org/details/cu31924028838600/page/n237 History of the Town of Waitsfield, Vermont, 1782–1908], 1909, page 200William M. Pingry, Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Moses Pengry, 1881, page 46Vermont General Assembly, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_dVI4AAAAMAAJ/page/n325 Journal of the Vermont State Senate], 1886, page 322
• Thomas Porter, Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, 1780 to 1782, Assistant Judge of Rutland County, 1781–1782.H. P. Smith and W. S. Rann, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofrutland00smit#page/142/mode/2up/search/porter History of Rutland County, Vermont], 1886, pages 142 to 143
• James M. Slade, son of Governor William Slade, Lieutenant Governor from 1856 to 1857, Assistant Judge of Addison County, 1868 to 1870.[https://books.google.com/books?id=jmBLAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22james+m+slade%22+addison+county&pg=PA463 The American Journal of Education], edited by Henry Barnard, Volume 2, 1869, page 463
• John Spaulding, Vermont State Treasurer from 1841 to 1846.{{cite news |date=October 27, 1840 |title=Senate: Appointments; Washington County |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/47604092/ |newspaper=Rutland County Herald |location=Rutland, VT |page=3 |url-access=subscription }}{{cite news |date=May 31, 1867 |title=Personal: Hon. John Spaulding has been commissioned by Gov. Dillingham as Assistant Judge of Washington Co. Court |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/145477473/ |newspaper=Burlington Free Press |location=Burlington, VT |page=2 |url-access=subscription }}
• Paul Spooner, Lieutenant Governor, 1782 to 1787, Windsor County Assistant Judge, 1779–1782, 1785–1789.Benjamin Homer Hall, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_QXEUAAAAYAAJ_2/page/n644 History of Eastern Vermont], 1858, pages 698–699
• Zed S. Stanton, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont from 1902 to 1904, Washington County Assistant Judge, 1884–1888.Jacob G. Ullery, [https://books.google.com/books?id=_L0MAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22zed+s.+stanton%22&pg=PA373 Men of Vermont Illustrated], 1903, page 373
• John Strong, Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1786, Assistant Judge of Bennington County, 1781–1782.LaFayette Wilbur, [https://books.google.com/books?id=mL41AAAAIAAJ&dq=%22john+strong%22+salisbury+connecticut+born+1738&pg=PA390 Early History of Vermont], Volume 2, 1900, page 390
• John E. Weeks, Governor from 1927 to 1931, Addison County Assistant Judge, 1884–1886.{{cite web|title=John E. Weeks|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000244|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate=12 January 2014}}
• David Wing Jr., Secretary of State of Vermont from 1802 to 1806, Caledonia County Assistant Judge, 1797-1803, Presiding Judge, 1804-1806.{{cite book |last=Child |first=Hamilton |date=1887 |title=Gazetteer of Caledonia and Essex Counties, Vt. 1764-1887 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_GkcjAQAAMAAJ |location=Syracuse, NY |publisher=Syracuse Journal Company |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_GkcjAQAAMAAJ/page/n37 35]-36}}
• Augustus Young, United States Representative, 1841 to 1843, Franklin County Assistant Judge, 1851–1854.{{cite web|title=Augustus Young|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=Y000029|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate=12 January 2014}}

As of April 2025, the assistant judges in each county are:{{cite web |url=https://vtassistantjudges.org/ |title=Information By County |date=2025 |website=VT Assistant Judges.org |publisher=Vermont Association of County Judges |location=Montpelier, VT |access-date=12 April 2025}}

{{hide|List of Current side judges|

Middlebury{{cite web |url=http://www.townofmiddlebury.org/vertical/sites/%7BCA36F8A3-652B-4085-AA8E-DD3623CC0020%7D/uploads/99-Asst_Judge_Invitation.pdf |title=Meeting notice, Addison County Budget |date=December 18, 2014 |website=Town of Middlebury |publisher=Addison County Assistant Judges |access-date=May 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235536/http://www.townofmiddlebury.org/vertical/sites/%7BCA36F8A3-652B-4085-AA8E-DD3623CC0020%7D/uploads/99-Asst_Judge_Invitation.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }}

• Patricia Ross, Democratic
• Nicole Wilkerson, Democratic

Bennington{{cite news |date=November 10, 2014 |title=Some New Faces Join Bennington County Elected Officials |url=http://rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20141110/NEWS02/711109965?template=printart |newspaper=Rutland Herald |location=Rutland, VT}}

• Brian W. Peat, Democratic
• Mary C. Frost, Democratic

St. Johnsbury

• Merle Haskins, Independent
• (Vacant)

Burlington

• Suzanne Brown, Democratic
• Connie C. Ramsey, Democratic

Guildhall

• Evan Hammond, Republican
• Kenn Stransky, Republican

St. Albans

• Kelly Gosselin, Republican
• (Vacant)

North Hero, Vermont

• Sherri Potvin, Democratic
• (Vacant)

Hyde Park

• Madeline M. Motta, Democratic
• Patricia Gabel, Republican

Chelsea

• Laurel Mackin, Democratic
• Joyce McKeeman, Democratic

Newport

• Sean Selby, Independent
• Curtis A. Hardy, Republican/Democratic

Rutland

• David S. Wolk, Independent
• Stephen P. Benard, Republican

Montpelier

• Elizabeth Battey, Democratic
• Leah Murphy Jones, Democratic

Newfane

• Carolyn Partridge, Democratic
• Lamont Barnett, Democratic

Woodstock

• Alison Johannensen, Democratic
• Michael Ricci, Democratic}}

• Judicial System of Sweden: Lay Judges
• Assessor (law)

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080706064229/http://www.rherald.com/News/2007/1206/Front_page/f03.html Rutland Herald article]
• [http://www.thinkvermont.com/publications/pdf/legguide_11.pdf Vermont's Court System]{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Category:Region-specific legal occupations

Category:Vermont state court judges