Rule 6 - General provisions(1) The Board shall have authority to receive information, investigate, dismiss unfounded complaints, enter into deferred discipline agreements, issue written warnings, conduct hearings, and impose sanctions for judicial misconduct and disability. (2) The Board may determine that the following actions should be taken against a judge: written warning, public reprimand, limitations or conditions on the performance of judicial duties, suspension for a portion or all of the remainder of the judge's term in office, or other appropriate sanctions. (3) The Board shall have, but is not limited to, the following powers: (a) to hold hearings and subpoena witnesses and exercise requisite process powers;(b) to make independent investigations either by members of the Board, disciplinary counsel, or special counsel; (c) to require a judge to submit to physical or mental examination by qualified experts; and (d) to employ investigators, medical experts, stenographic reporters and other employees, for purposes of a particular matter only, as the Board in its discretion determines to be necessary to carry out its functions and purposes. (4) The Board shall have authority to submit rules of procedure for the approval of the Supreme Court, and to develop appropriate forms for its proceedings. (5) The Board may interpret the Code of Judicial Conduct and Rules of Professional Conduct only in connection with specific acts of conduct in matters before the Board, and shall not issue advisory opinions or interpretations. All decisions, orders, and recommendations of the Board shall be in writing.(6) The Board shall investigate any complaint submitted to it and may investigate conduct or disability upon its own motion.(7) All communications between or among Board members, all meetings of the Board, and all communications between the Board and disciplinary counsel or special counsel shall be confidential. No member of the Board may discuss the substantive internal communications, or the deliberations, of the Board with anyone outside the Board, its staff or its counsel. Except as otherwise provided by these rules, all papers, files, transcripts and communications in proceedings before the Board shall be confidential. After the service of a Formal Complaint upon a judge, the Formal Complaint, all subsequent pleadings, exhibits and rulings of the Board, and any hearing related to the Formal Complaint, shall be public. (8) No member of the Board or other employee of the judicial department having knowledge of Board investigations shall disclose or use any Board record, file or communication except in the course of official duty. If both the complainant and the judge agree in writing and the Board agrees, confidentiality may be waived. (9) Notwithstanding the confidentiality provisions of these rules, in any proceeding for impeachment, retention in office or judicial appointment, the chair of the Board upon written request shall make available to the officers involved in those proceedings information about matters which are pending and which have proceeded beyond the stage of initial inquiry pursuant to Rule 7(1). (10) The Board may enforce the provisions for confidentiality by appropriate proceedings for contempt before any justice of the Supreme Court. (11) From time to time, the Board may issue press releases and other public statements explaining the nature of its jurisdiction, procedures for filing complaints, limitations upon its powers and authority, and reports on the conduct of the business of the Board, provided that these releases and reports shall not identify in any manner any person involved in any proceedings before the Board. The Board shall periodically review its operations and procedures and issue an annual report to the Supreme Court, which shall include statistics and any recommendations for rule changes and shall be a public document. (12) If there is publicity concerning an investigation of a judge in a proceeding before the Board resulting in substantial unfairness to the judge, the Board may issue a short statement of clarification or correction. (13) If there is publicity concerning alleged conduct of a judge claimed to constitute serious violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct or Rules of Professional Conduct, or the law, and after an investigation it is determined by the Board that there is no basis for probable cause to file a Formal Complaint, the Board may issue a short explanatory statement. (14) In any case in which the subject matter becomes public through independent sources, the Board may issue statements as it deems appropriate in order to confirm the pendency of the investigation, to clarify the procedural aspects of the disciplinary proceedings, to explain the right of the judge to a fair hearing without prejudgment, and to state that the judge denies the allegations. (15) No judge who is a member of the Board may sit on the Board in any proceeding involving that judge's discipline. No member of the Board may participate in any proceeding in which a judge, in the exercise of judicial duties, would be required by Rule 2.11 of the Code of Judicial Conduct to disqualify himself or herself. If the Chair is disqualified or unavailable, the Vice-Chair shall assume the Chair's duties. If so many Board members are disqualified on a particular case that a quorum is impossible, the Chair shall appoint the necessary number of pro tempore members. If a member of the Board appears before any judge against whom a Formal Complaint is then pending, that member shall not thereafter participate in any discipline proceeding concerning that complaint. (16) A quorum to transact business shall be three for an investigative panel, at least one of whom shall be a layperson. No act of an investigative panel shall be valid unless concurred in by a majority of those present and voting. The quorum to transact business for a hearing panel and the Board shall be five, at least one of whom shall be a layperson. No act of a hearing panel or the Board shall be valid unless concurred in by a majority of the Board. All meetings of the Board, investigative panel, and hearing panel shall be held in the state. (17) The Board shall not function as an appellate court to review the decisions of a court or judge nor exercise superintending or administrative control over determinations of courts or judges. (18) Except when the Board determines otherwise for good cause, the Board shall not deal with complaints arising out of acts or omissions discovered by the complainant more than three years prior to the date of the complaint. When the last episode of an alleged pattern of recurring judicial conduct arises within the three year period, the Board may consider all prior acts or omissions related to that alleged pattern of conduct, even if the prior acts or omissions are part of a complaint that was previously dismissed. (19)(a) A complaint shall be filed with the Board by delivering it or by sending it by regular mail to the Chair. In the alternative, a complaint may be filed as an attachment to an email sent to the Chair at the address associated with the Board on the Vermont Judiciary website. The subject line must indicate the case or subject matter of the filing. The Chair shall keep a docket in which the filing of all complaints and their final disposition shall be recorded. This docket shall not be available for inspection as a public record. A copy of each complaint shall be furnished to each member by the Chair. (b) The Chair shall also keep a separate docket to record all Formal Complaints and their final disposition. This docket shall be available for inspection as a public record. (20) Neither unwillingness nor neglect of a complainant to sign a complaint or to prosecute a charge, nor settlement, compromise or restitution shall in itself justify abandonment of an investigation into the conduct of a judge. (21) An investigation or formal action by either the Board or the Professional Responsibility Board shall not preclude any action by the other. (22) For good cause shown, the Chair may extend for periods of time not exceeding thirty days, the time for filing an answer, or for the commencement of a formal hearing or hearing to take additional evidence. (23) The raising of mental or physical condition as a defense shall constitute a waiver of patient privilege. (24) A judge suspended by the Supreme Court from the practice of law shall be suspended for the remainder of the judge's term in office, without compensation. (25) The members of the Board shall be reimbursed for all reasonable expenses incurred by them in connection with their duties as members of the Board and nonjudiciary members shall receive per diem compensation equivalent to that provided by law for comparable boards and commissions. The commissioner of finance and management shall issue a warrant for the compensation and expenses of each member of the Board when submitted on vouchers approved by the court administrator. (26) The Board shall review the public report of compensation for extra-judicial activity, expense reimbursement and gifts filed annually by each judge pursuant to Rule 3.15 of the Code of Judicial Conduct and Administrative Directive No. 6 of the Supreme Court. The Board need take no further action after such review unless concerns are raised regarding potential violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct.(27) The Board, the Professional Responsibility Board, and the Administrative Judge for Trial Courts may exchange any otherwise confidential information that they believe is relevant to each other's responsibilities. The Board shall disclose to the Supreme Court any information that is requested by the Court, including information otherwise deemed confidential under these rules. Vt. Disc. Control of Judges R. 6
Adopted Feb. 17, 1978, eff. 3/1/1978; amended Aug. 31, 1981, eff 11/3/1981; Sept. 17, 2001, eff. 1/1/2002; 8/15/2006, eff. 10/16/2006; 12/21/2010, eff. 2/21/2011; amended February 10, 2020, eff. 4/13/2020; amended September 13, 2022, eff. 10/1/2022.Reporter's Notes-2022 Amendment
Rule 6(19)(a) is amended to allow a complaint to be filed with the Chair of the Board by email. The complaint must be submitted as an attachment to the email and must be sent to the email for the Chair that is associated with the Board. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board was authorized to conduct its business by email under Administrative Order 49, ¶ 15(c). This was an efficient and helpful means of communication and therefore has been incorporated into the permanent rules.