Vt. Memo to the Bar, Feb. 6, 2018

SUPREME COURT OF VERMONT

OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR

PATRICIA GABEL, ESQ. Mailing Address

State Court Administrator Office of the Court Administrator

patricia.gabel@vermont.gov 109 State Street

Montpelier, VT 05609-0701

Telephone (802) 828-3278

FAX: 802 828-3457

www.vermontjudiciary.org

TO: Members of the Vermont Bar

FROM: Patricia Gabel, State Court Administrator

RE: Promulgated and Proposed Rule Amendments, and Miscellaneous Information

DATE: February 6, 2018

For your information, please find the following information:

• Order Promulgating Amendment to Rule 54(a) of the Vermont Rules of Criminal Procedure

• Proposed Order Amending § 10 of Administrative Order No. 41

• Proposed Order Promulgating Amendments to Rules 7(c), 9(b)(1), 11, 12(a), and 13(b) and

(e) of the Vermont Rules of Admission to the Bar of the Vermont Supreme Court

• Updated Court Forms

• Obligations Under A.O. 41

• eCabinet Registration

I. PROMULGATED RULE AMENDMENT

a. Order Promulgating Amendment to Rule 54(a) of the Vermont Rules of Criminal Procedure

This Order was promulgated on February 5, 2018, effective April 9, 2018.

The amendment to Rule 54(a)(2) comports with statutory amendments. 23 V.S.A. §§ 2201-2207,

referred to in the former rule as the “Traffic Act,” were repealed per 2015, No. 47, § 38. The

offenses and tickets formerly covered under the repealed statutes were placed under the jurisdiction

of the Judicial Bureau and subject to enforcement under 4 V.S.A. Chapter 29, under procedural rules

promulgated by the Supreme Court. See 4 V.S.A. § 1106(f). The rules governing Judicial Bureau

proceedings are prescribed in V.R.C.P. 80.6. In consequence, references to proceedings under the

“Traffic Act” in Rule 54(a)(2) have been deleted.

II. PROPOSED RULE AMENDMENTS

(NOTE: THE FOLLOWING AMENDMENTS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED BY THE

COMMITTEES OR BOARDS AND HAVE NOT BEEN REVIEWED BY THE SUPREME

COURT.)

.

a. Proposed Order Amending § 10 of Administrative Order No. 41

The proposed amendment to § 10 revises the rule to permit federal judges and magistrates to

claim judicial status as well as authorizing the MCLE Board to grant judicial status to a justice,

judge, or magistrate from another jurisdiction upon request and showing of good cause.

Comments on this proposed amendment should be sent by April 6, 2018, to Andrew Strauss,

Licensing Counsel of the Office of Attorney Licensing, at the following address:

Andrew Strauss, Licensing Counsel

Office of Attorney Licensing

Costello Courthouse

32 Cherry Street, Suite 213

Burlington, VT 05401

Andrew.Strauss@vermont.gov

b. Proposed Order Promulgating Amendments to Rules 7(c), 9(b)(1), 11, 12(a), and 13(b)

and (e) of the Vermont Rules of Admission to the Bar of the Vermont Supreme Court

The proposed amendment to Rule 7(c) allows for all institutions of higher education whose

accreditor has been approved by the U.S. Department of Education to satisfy the LOS

educational requirement. The proposed amendment to Rule 7(c) allows an applicant with an

undergraduate degree from a foreign jurisdiction to satisfy that requirement, provided the

applicant can establish that such degree is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree from a Department

of Education-approved institution.

The proposed amendments to Rules 9(b)(1), 11, and 13(e) ensure consistency and clarity

with regards to the permitted age of UBE and MPRE scores. The proposed amendment to Rule

9(b)(1) clarifies that applicants must be active attorneys to waive the five-year limitation and

that Board approval is not necessary for such a waiver. Also, the proposed amendment to Rule

9(b)(1) allows for an extension to the time limitation for good cause.

The proposed amendment to Rule 11 clarifies that the triggering date for the time limit for

the age of the MPRE score is the date the applicant achieves a passing UBE score, consistent

with the prior Board’s Notes and the three-year age limit for the MPRE in Rule 13(e). Also, the

proposed amendment to Rule 11 allows for an extension to the time limitation for good cause.

The proposed amendment to Rule 12(a)(1) makes the time period to take the first-year CLE

courses for admittees by examination consistent with the corresponding time period for admittees

without examination in Rule 15. The proposed amendment to Rule 12(a)(2) clarifies that for

good cause the Board can grant an extension to the time limit for satisfying the first-year

mentorship requirement.

The proposed amendment to Rule 13(e) imposes a one-year outer limit for the MPRE score,

consistent with the outer limit in Rule 11. Also, the proposed amendment to Rule 13(e) allows

for an extension to the time limitation for good cause. The proposed amendment to Rule 13(b)

specifically permits concurrent applications for admission by transferred UBE score, meaning

that an applicant can apply to sit for the UBE in a UBE jurisdiction other than Vermont and at

the same time apply for admission by transferred UBE score to the Vermont bar, although the

UBE score has not yet been earned.

Comments on this proposed amendment should be sent by April 6, 2018, to Andrew Strauss,

Licensing Counsel of the Office of Attorney Licensing, at the following address:

Andrew Strauss, Licensing Counsel

Office of Attorney Licensing

Costello Courthouse

32 Cherry Street, Suite 213

Burlington, VT 05401

Andrew.Strauss@vermont.gov

III. MISCELLANEOUS

a. Court Forms

Court forms are constantly being updated. Please refer to the judiciary website for the most

up-to-date forms. https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/court-forms

b. Obligation under A.O. 41

Attorneys are reminded that an “attorney must report to the State Court Administrator within

thirty days any change of the office mailing or electronic mail address” and that “[n]otice sent to a

reported address is sufficient even if not received by the attorney because of failure to report the

proper address or failure of delivery not caused by the court.” A.O. 41, § 4(c); see A.O. 44, § 1.

Please email those changes to JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov. Your cooperation is very

much appreciated.

To ensure you continue to receive these emails, please add JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov

to your Safe Senders list.

c. eCabinet Registration

Administrative Order No. 44 requires attorneys in active status to register up to three email

addresses in eCabinet for purposes of receiving notices of hearing and other documents. You

may include staff email addresses in the three email addresses that you specify. eCabinet

registration is required whether you practice in court or not.

If you have already registered in eCabinet, the email address(es) you provided as part of that

process will be used.

If you have not already registered in eCabinet, please go to

https://efiling.eservices.crt.state.vt.us/, click Register Now, and follow the simple prompts.

Attorneys will need their attorney license numbers to register. Helpful information about the

Attorney Email Registration process is also available on the Electronic Filing page of the

judiciary website at https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/electronic-

access/electronic-filing. Please contact jud.helpdesk@vermont.gov or call the Helpdesk at 802-

828-4357 with any questions in the meantime.

You are also reminded that you are required to update the email address(es) and other contact

information you have registered as soon as there are any changes, including changes to staff

email addresses you may have included with your registration. To revise the information, please

go to https://efiling.eservices.crt.state.vt.us/, log into eCabinet, click “Account,” choose “My

Profile,” and make the necessary changes to your contact information.

Notification to JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov or in eCabinet of a change to your contact

information does not automatically notify the other. It is your responsibility to notify both. If you

are a member of the Vermont Bar Association, you will also need to separately notify the VBA.