APPLICATION

As amended through November 4, 2024

APPLICATION

The Application section establishes when the various Rules apply to a judge or judicial candidate.

(A)JUDGE. All judges shall comply with this Code except as provided below.

(B)CONTINUING PART-TIME JUDGE. A continuing part-time judge:

(1) is not required to comply

(a) except while serving as a judge, with Rules 2.10(A) and 2.10(B) (Judicial Statements on Pending and Impending Cases);

(b) at any time with Rules 3.4 (Appointments to Governmental Positions), 3.9 (Service as Arbitrator or Mediator), 3.10 (Practice of Law), and 3.11(B) (service as officer, director, or in other capacity in business entity)

(c) except while serving as a judge or seeking appointment, confirmation, retention, election, or re-election as a judge, with Rule 4.1.

(2) shall not act as a lawyer in any case in any unit of the division of the court in which the judge serves or in any unit in any division of the superior court in a proceeding in which the judge has served as a judge or in any other proceeding related thereto.

(3) shall not use any office, chambers, and hearing rooms provided to the judge for official duties to practice law.

(C)PERIODIC PART-TIME JUDGE. A periodic part-time judge:

(1) is not required to comply

(a) except while serving as a judge, with Rules 1.1, 1.2, 2.10 and 3.2;

(b) at any time with Rules 3.4, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11(B), 3.11(C), 3.12, 3.13, 3.15, 4.1 and 4.2.

(2) should refrain from judicial service during the period of an extrajudicial appointment not permitted by Rule 3.4 or 3.7.

(3) shall not act as a lawyer in a proceeding in which he or she has served as a periodic part-time judge or in any other proceeding related thereto.

(D)EFFECTIVE DATE; TIME FOR COMPLIANCE. This Code takes effect on October 6, 2019. All persons to whom this Code is applicable on that date shall comply immediately with all provisions of this Code. All persons to whom this Code thereafter becomes applicable shall comply immediately with all provisions of this Code except Sections 3.8 and 3.11 and shall comply with those sections as soon as reasonably possible.

(E)TITLE. This Code may be known and cited as the Vermont Code of Judicial Conduct 2019.

Amended August 6, 2019, eff. 10/7/2019; amended January 23, 2020, eff. 1/23/2020.

Comment

[1] The Rules in this Code have been formulated to address the ethical obligations of any person who serves as a judge as that term is broadly defined the Terminology Section and are premised upon the supposition that a uniform system of ethical principles should apply to all those authorized to perform judicial functions.

[2] When a person who has been a continuing part-time judge as defined in the Terminology Section is no longer a continuing part-time judge, that person may act as a lawyer in a proceeding in which he or she has served as a judge or in any other proceeding related thereto only with the informed consent of all parties, and pursuant to Rule 1.12 of the Vermont Rule of Professional Conduct.

[3] If serving as a fiduciary when selected as judge, a new judge may, notwithstanding the prohibitions in Rule 3.8, continue to serve as fiduciary, but only for that period of time necessary to avoid serious adverse consequences to the beneficiaries of the fiduciary relationship and in any event must comply as soon as reasonably possible. Similarly, if engaged at the time of judicial selection in a business activity, a new judge may, notwithstanding the prohibitions in Rule 3.11, continue in that activity for a reasonable period.

Reporter's Notes

For clarity, the Application section, following the format of ABA Code 2007, is placed at the beginning, rather than the end, of the Code. It incorporates the amendment of Application section B(1)(b) of Vermont Code 1994 adopted in 2017, effective February 1, 2019.

The Application section is a simplified version of that in the ABA Code, reflecting Vermont law by recognizing only three categories of judges: "Judge," "Continuing Part-time Judge," and "Periodic Part-time Judge." Those categories are defined in the Terminology section, as in Vermont Code 1994, as amended in 2000 and 2011, rather than in the Application section as in the ABA Code. The category "periodic part-time judge" includes those individuals included as pro tempore part-time judges in ABA Code 2007, Application Section V. Application section D and Comment of Vermont Code 2019 require termination of fiduciary or business activities by a newly appointed judge as soon as reasonably possible after appointment. The provision does not include the limitation of that period to one year imposed in ABA Code 2007, but that one-year limit should provide guidance in defining "reasonable" in the Vermont Code provision.

Reporter's Notes-2020 Amendment

The Application section is amended to exempt periodic part-time judges from Rule 3.15, which requires judges to submit a public annual income report. Because periodic part-time judges serve only sporadically, an annual report is both unnecessary and overly onerous. The emergency amendment takes effect immediately so that periodic part-time judges will not be required to submit an income report for the 2019 calendar year.