Vt. Ct. Admin'r Directive PG-16 1

Rule 5 is amended as follows (new matter underlined; deleted matter struck through):

Note: Listed below are provisions of statutes and court rules that may grant a specific right

of access to judicial branch case records for which public access otherwise is limited, along

with a summary of each. The summaries are provided for reader convenience and are not

legally binding. Re aders should review the text of the statutes and court rules before

applying them. This list may not include all such specific rights of access.

APPENDIX to Rule 5: Statutes and Court Rules Providing Specific Right of

Access to Court Records

Citation Description

3 V.S.A. § 163(e)(3) A special index of juvenile cases expunged after

completion of diversion together with expungement

orders is confidential except by petition of the person

who is the subject of the case or permission of the

Chief Superior Judge for research purposes pursuant

to the Rules for Public Access to Court Records.

3 V.S.A. § 164(g)(3)(C) A special index of criminal cases expunged after

completion of diversion is not publicly accessible

except by petition of the person who is the subject of

the case or permission of the Chief Superior Judge for

research purposes pursuant to the Rules for Public

Access to Court Records.

12 V.S.A. § 1705 Any document bearing true name of subject of

proceeding as to disclosure of HIV counseling and

testing information may be disclosed only to parties

with a compelling need to know and then sealed at

conclusion of the proceedings.

13 V.S.A. § 1460(a) Records in cases seeking an injunction against a

juvenile to stop ha te-motivated conduct are made

nonpublic by incorporation of 33 V.S.A. § 5117,

including its specific access provisions.

13 V.S.A. § 4824 A finding that a person is mentally ill and dangerous

to himself or others is not publicly accessible under

Administrative Directive No. PG-16 State Court Administrator

18 V.S.A. § 7103 but must be provided to the National

Instant Criminal Background Check System,

established by Section 103 of the Brady Handgun

Violence Prevention Act of 1993.

13 V.S.A. § 5236(f) Financial information provided by a defendant

pursuant to 13 V.S.A. § 5236(d), (e) is not publicly

accessible in the trial and Supreme Court but is

available for review by the person who submitted it.

13 V.S.A. § 5566(c) DNA profile information related to a petition for

postconviction DNA testing is confidential. except for

use and dissemination consistent with 13 V.S.A. §

chapter 182 and 20 V.S.A. chapter 113.

13 V.S.A. § 7606(d)(3) A special index of criminal cases expunged by court

order pursuant to Chapter 230 of Title 13 is not

publicly accessible except by pe tition of the person

who is the subject of the case or permission of the

Chief Superior Judge for research purposes pursuant

to the Rules for Public Access to Court Records.

13 V.S.A. § 7607 A special index of criminal cases sealed by court

order pursuant to Chapter 230 of Title 13 is not

publicly accessible except by petition of the person

who is the subject of the case or permission of the

Chief Superior Judge for research purposes pursuant

to the Rules for Public Access to Court Records.

14 V.S.A. § 2 A will filed with the probate division for safekeeping

is not publicly accessible during the life of the

testator but may be accessed by others in accordance

with instructions of the testator and by the testator's

duly authorized legal guardian or attorney-in-fact in

the presence of the judge or register.

14 V.S.A. § 3067(e) Professional evaluation of the need for a guardian is

confidential except that it will be provided to the

respondent, the respondent’s attorney, the

petitioner, and the guar dian upon appointment, and

the court may determine that “any other individual,

including the proposed guardian” has a “strong

interest in the welfare of the respondent” and allow

access to that person.

14 V.S.A. § 3098(c) Information regarding a child’s immigration status

related to a petition for classification as a special

immigrant juvenile is confidential, provided that it is

available for inspection by the court, the subject

child, the parties, their attorneys, and the child’s

counsel and guardian.

15A V.S.A. § § 3-203, 3-208, 6-102, 6-

Title 15A provides for adoption proceedings,

relinquishment proceedings, proceedings to

terminate parental rights in certain circumstances

and proceedings to gain certain information relating

to an adoption. For all these proceedings, the in-court

events are closed to the public and the records are

nonpublic. However, some statutory provisions

allow designated nonparties, and parties in some

circumstances, to have access to records that may be

possessed by the court in specified circumstances.

18 V.S.A. § 5112(c) Records of a proceeding where the probate division

authorizes a new birth certificate because of a change

of sex are not publicly accessible; however, one may

have access to one’s own records.

18 V.S.A. § 7103 Proceedings under Part 8 of Title 18 —generally

mental-health and developmental-disabilities

related proceedings—are closed to the public and the

records of the proceedings are nonpublic. The statute

provides that certain persons have a specific right of

access generally or to specific records or information.

18 V.S.A. §§ 9306(c), 9309(b) Records in proceedings to appoint a guardian for a

person who is developmentally disabled are not

publicly accessible except where the respondent or

the representative of the respondent consents to

access by a person.

28 V.S.A. §§ 204, 204a; V.R.Cr.P. 32(c) Generally, presentence investigation reports,

including any supervised-community-sentence plan,

28 V.S.A. § 352(c), are nonpublic, 28 V.S.A.

§ 204(d)(1). The court may allow inspection of the

presentence investigation report or parole summary

or parts thereof by other persons having a proper

interest, whenever the best interest or welfare of the

defendant or inmate makes that action desirable or

helpful, 28 V.S.A. § 204(d)(2)(B), or by a state or

federal prosecutor conducting a criminal

investigation if the court finds that the records may

be relevant to the investigation. Id. § 204(f).

33 V.S.A. §§ 5110, 5117, 5118, and

5119, 5122

Records in juvenile proceedings are generally

nonpublic, subject to an extensive list of persons who

have a specific right of access to some of or all the

information under circumstances described in the

statutory sections.

V.R.Cr.P. 6(e) A transcript of proceedings before the grand jury is

not publicly accessible and “records, orders, and

subpoenas relating to grand-jury proceedings must

be kept under seal to the extent and as long as

necessary to prevent disclosure of a matter occurring

before a grand jury.” V.R.Cr .P. 6(e)(5). Limited

exceptions apply to other prosecuting attorneys and

on court order.

Rules Governing Establishment and

Operation of the Professional

Responsibility Program,

Records related to complaints to the l awyer

professional responsibility program are not publicly

accessible before the filing of a formal disciplinary

proceeding. The Professional Responsibility Board

Administrative Order No. 9, Rule

12(F)

may provide access to (a) A lawyer or judicial

admission or disciplinary agency of this or an other

jurisdiction or (b) Any agency or person to which the

attorney has submitted a waiver of confidentiality.

Deliberations and work product of the Board,

hearing panel, and their counsel remain confidential.

Proceedings related to disability inactive status are

confidential. Effective April 1, 202 1, Rule 12 is

renumbered Rule 16. New Rules 7(D) and 8 make the

operations of the Bar Assistance Program

confidential, subject to limited disclosure exceptions.

Rules for the Disciplinary Control of

Judges, Rule 6(7), (9)

Records of the Judicial Conduct Board are nonpublic

unless a formal disciplinary complaint is filed against

a judge. If a disciplinary matter has proceeded

beyond the stage of an initial inquiry, the chair may

provide information abo ut the proceedings to

officers involved in impeachment, retention, or

judicial appointment proceedings.

Rules Governing the Assignment and

Payment Therefore by the Defender

General, Administrative Order No. 4 §

Any proof of income furnished in support o f

eligibility for public defender services is confidential,

but available for review by the clerk, judicial officer,

and person who submitted.

Rules Governing Qualification, List,

Selection and Summoning of All

Jurors, Rules 4(c) & 10; 4 V.S.A. § 955;

V.R.Cr.P. 24(a)(2); V.R.C.P. 47(a)(2)

Certain information about jurors and provided by

jurors in response to a questionnaire is not publicly

accessible. Any electronic record of questionnaire

responses is not publicly accessible. The information

is available to the parties, and the “physical record”

of the information is publicly available with names

and addresses redacted.