Vt. Memo to the Bar, July 17, 2020

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, Esq., State Court Administrator

RE: Twelfth Amendment to Administrative Order No. 49 – Declaration of Judicial Emergency

and Changes to Court Procedures & Miscellaneous Information

DATE: July 17, 2020

For your information, please find:

• AO 49 Amendment - Declaration of Judicial Emergency and Changes to Court Procedures 7-17-20

• Odyssey Electronic Filing & Other Important Info

• Updated Court Forms

• Obligations Under A.O. 41

• eCabinet Registration

I. PROMULGATED RULE AMENDMENT

AO 49 Amendment - Declaration of Judicial Emergency and Changes to Court Procedures 7-17-20

This Order was promulgated on July 17, 2020, effective immediately.

This order further amends A.O. 49, which declared a Judicial Emergency on March 16, 2020, in

response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The order amends ¶ 6(d) regarding email filings in the Supreme Court to eliminate any requirement

that multiple paper briefs be filed at the conclusion of the judicial emergency and instead requires that

one set of briefs and printed cases be filed within a week of the electronic filing. The Court retains its

discretion to, by order, require parties to file additional paper copies of briefs and printed cases.

The order also amends ¶ 18 regarding the July 2020 bar examination. The in-person bar exam

originally scheduled for July 2020 and rescheduled to September 2020 is cancelled. The order

authorizes the Board of Bar Examiners to conduct and grade a remote bar examination in the fall of

2020. Applicants who were registered and authorized to sit for the July 2020 examination will be

automatically registered for the remote examination. Registered applicants who choose not to take the

remote exam may receive a refund or choose to register to sit for the February 2021 exam. Registered

applicants choosing to take the exam in February 2021 will be permitted to continue to practice as a

legal intern. The order also authorizes the Board to enter agreements with other states so that scores

will be portable.

More information regarding COVID-19 and court operations can be found at

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/news/information-regarding-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-

and-court-operations

II. MISCELLANEOUS

a. Odyssey Electronic Filing and Other Important Information

The Addison, Bennington, Chittenden and Rutland trial courts and Environmental Division will

begin using Odyssey starting September 1st, with electronic filing to commence on or about October

19th. Odyssey and electronic filing are already operational in the Orange, Windsor, and Windham

trial courts and the Judicial Bureau. Please use the following links to access Odyssey electronic filing

and portal systems and for more information.

• Odyssey File & Serve. Odyssey File & Serve (OFS) is the platform through which you will

electronically file with the courts. To access Odyssey File & Serve, please visit

https://vermont.tylerhost.net/ofsweb. This page contains user guides in the lower left-hand

corner. They include instructions on how to register and use OFS.

• For information about OFS processing fees and for docket specific user guides, please visit

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/electronic-access/electronic-filing.

• Odyssey Public Portal. The Odyssey Public Portal allows you to view your case files. To

access the portal, please visit https://publicportal.courts.vt.gov/Portal/. Before you can view

your case files, you must first register in the portal and then request elevated access. The

Public Portal User Guide contains instructions on how to register and request elevated

access. You can read the user guide via this link:

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/sites/default/files/documents/VT%20Public%20Portal%2

0User%20Guide%20v8.pdf. For full information on how to use the portal, please visit

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/public-portal.

• FAQ. Please visit https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/odyssey for answers to frequently

asked questions and updates about the project.

b. 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.

Please use the link below to report any form question, concern or issue

http://www.vermontjudiciary.org/website-feedback-form or you can access our Website Feedback

program at the bottom of each web page.

c. 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.

d. 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.