Vt. R. App. P. 45

As amended through May 6, 2024

Rule 45 - Clerk's Duties

(a) When Court Is Open. The Supreme Court is always open for the purpose of filing any document, issuing and returning process, making a motion, or entering an order. The clerk's office with the clerk or a deputy in attendance must be open during business hours on all days except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.

(b) Records.

(1)The Docket. The clerk must:

(A) maintain the docket and an index of all docketed cases;

(B) assign consecutive file numbers to all cases;

(C) record all documents filed with the clerk; and

(D) record all documents, orders, and judgments chronologically in the docket assigned to the case. Entries must be brief but show the nature of each document filed or judgment or order entered. The entry of an order or judgment must show the date the entry is made.

(2)Calendar. At least 7 days before the opening of a term, the clerk must prepare and distribute a calendar of cases then ripe for argument as defined in Rule 34(a) to the parties having cases on it. In placing cases on the calendar for argument, the clerk must give preference to appeals in criminal cases.

(3)Other Records. The docket clerk must keep other books and records required by law or by order of the Clerk of the Court.

(c) Notice of an Order or Judgment.

(1)Orders or Judgments. Upon the entry of an order or judgment, the clerk must immediately provide a notice of entry to each party, with a copy of any opinion, or if no opinion was written, of the order or judgment, and must indicate the date of notice on the docket.

(2)Method of Giving Notice. The clerk must give notice under Rule 45(c)(1) and any other required notice by a method that the Supreme Court has provided by administrative order or directive. That notice will be sufficient for all purposes for which notice by the clerk is required under these rules.

(d) Custody of Records and Papers. The clerk has custody of the Court's records and papers and must maintain them as provided by law. Papers belonging to the files will be allowed to go out of the clerk's possession only upon receipt signed by the attorney to whom they are entrusted. Unless the Court or a justice orders or instructs otherwise, the clerk must not permit an original record or paper to be taken from the clerk's office. Upon disposition of the case, original papers constituting the record on appeal must be returned to the original tribunal. The clerk must preserve a copy of any brief and printed case and all other papers filed in the Supreme Court.

(1) Custodian of Records. In accordance with Vermont Rule for Public Access to Court Records § 3(c), the custodian of the Supreme Court's paper case records is the Deputy Clerk of the Supreme Court, and the custodian of the Supreme Court's electronic case records is the Court Administrator.

(2)Official Paper Records. When the official record contains paper records, the paper records will be allowed to go out of the clerk's possession only upon receipt signed by the attorney to whom they are entrusted. Unless the Court or a justice orders or instructs otherwise, the clerk must not permit an original paper record or paper to be taken from the clerk's office.

(3)Return of Records. Upon disposition of the case, any official paper records must be returned to the original tribunal. The clerk must preserve a copy of any brief and printed case and all other documents filed in the Supreme Court.

Vt. R. App. P. 45

Amended Dec. 17, 2008, eff. 1/1/2009; 6/11/2013, eff. 9/3/2013; amended July 13, 2021, eff. 8/17/2021.

Reporter's Notes-2021 Amendment

Rule 45 is revised to update its requirements consistent with current practice and the implementation of an electronic case management system and electronic filing.

Rule 45(a) is amended to replace the word "paper" with "document" to reflect that filings may be submitted electronically or nonelectronically. Note that under 2020 V.R.E.F. 5(e) and 2020 V.R.E.F. 6(d), documents filed electronically and nonelectronically are reviewed by court staff and may be rejected for noncompliance with Rule 7(a)(1) of the Vermont Rules for Public Access to Court Records, for failure to comply with the word limit or to certify the word count, or for failure to sign a document.

Rule 45(b)(2) is amended to clarify that the calendar is distributed to the parties in the case, either to attorneys or to self-represented litigants.

The title of Rule 45(d) is amended to delete the reference to papers as that language is outdated for electronic files. New (d)(1) explains that the custodian of records is controlled by the Vermont Rules for Public Access to Court Records.

New (d)(2) is amended to refer to official paper records. The substantive provisions regarding how those records are treated remains the same.

New (d)(3) provides that official paper records must be returned to the original tribunal. This may include executive-branch administrative agencies that do not have electronic case files or paper records received from superior courts where the entire file has not been converted to electronic form.