Vt. Memo to the Bar, Aug. 20, 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: Fourteenth Amendment to Administrative Order No. 49 – Declaration of Judicial

Emergency and Changes to Court Procedures & Miscellaneous Information

DATE: August 20, 2020

For your information, please find:

• AO 49 Amendment - Declaration of Judicial Emergency and Changes to Court Procedures 8-20-20

• 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 8-20-20

This Order was promulgated on August 20, 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.

Paragraph 2 of A.O. 49 is amended to extend the judicial emergency to January 1, 2021 in

recognition of the fact that the continuing and dynamic nature of the pandemic will continue to

impact court operations and to require ongoing changes to court operations and rules.

The order also amends ¶ 7, regarding access to court buildings, to allow entry to individuals

participating in proceedings other than hearings, for example case manager conferences.

Appendix A referred to in ¶ 21 of A.O. 49, which concerns compliance with the Federal CARES

Act in eviction actions, is amended to clarify that the required notice to vacate must give thirty days

of notice.

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%20User%2

0Guide%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.

Efiling Training Opportunities

Register for a live e-filing training webinar. Starting September 10, 2020, Tyler Technologies will

offer online training session on how to electronically file documents using Odyssey File & Serve.

These sessions are offered for free and registration is open to all, including attorneys, firm

administrators, self-represented litigants, and state agency employees. To register please click here:

https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/7806326256261273102

Watch a pre-recorded e-filing training webinar. The judiciary’s NG-CMS project team recorded a

demonstration of how to use Odyssey File & Serve that you can view here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke2ouMDK4VQ&feature=emb_title. You may also watch a pre-recorded webinar by Tyler Technologies, by visiting

https://register.gotowebinar.com/recording/5669820132306504203 and registering.

Practice setting up your firm and submitting filings. Do you want hands on practice using the

system? Create your firm, register users and begin filing practice cases in the Vermont “Stage”

environment. Be sure that the web address you're using includes the word “stage” (https://vermont-

stage.tylerhost.net/ofsweb). The Stage environment is available any time. Please note that

submissions will only be reviewed periodically, so you may not get a timely response on whether

your practice submissions have been accepted. The Stage environment is available now only for

familiarity and direct hands-on experience and is not a substitute for registering on the actual efiling

site when you are ready.

Read Vermont specific e-filing guides. The Vermont Judiciary’s website includes several e-filing

guides to help you navigate Odyssey File & Serve. Visit https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/electronic-access/electronic-filing and click on Odyssey File and Serve User

Guides to view the most updated versions.

Important Notice about Court Operations During Phase III Odyssey Roll Out in the Addison,

Bennington, Chittenden, and Rutland Trial Courts and Environmental Division

In preparation for the Phase III Odyssey roll out, the Addison, Bennington, Chittenden, and Rutland

trial courts and the Environmental Division will be closed to the public on several dates during the

months of August and September. Below is a schedule of court closures and information about court

operations during these dates.

The courts will be closed according to the following schedule:

• All courts in these units will be closed from Monday August 31st through Monday

September 7th. Operations will resume on Tuesday September 8th.

• Addison Criminal, Probate, and Family will be closed Friday August 7th, Friday August

14th, Thursday August 20th, and Friday August 28th.

• Addison Civil will be closed Friday August 7th, Friday August 14th and Thursday August 20th.

• Bennington Civil and Probate will be closed Friday August 7th, Friday August 14th, Friday

August 21st, and Friday August 28th.

• Bennington Criminal and Family will be closed Tuesday August 11th, Thursday August

20th, and Tuesday August 25th.

• Chittenden Unit will be closed Friday August 14th, Friday August 21st, and Friday August

28th.

• Rutland Civil and Probate will be closed Friday August 14th, Thursday August 20th, and

Thursday August 27th.

• Rutland Criminal will be closed Thursday August 13th, Friday August 21st, and Friday

August 28th.

• Rutland Family will be closed Wednesday August 12th, Tuesday August 18th, and Tuesday

August 25th.

• Environmental Division will be closed Friday August 21st and Thursday August 27th.

Court users should know that on these dates:

• Units will only hold emergency hearings. This includes criminal lodgings, relief from abuse

cases, stalking cases, juvenile emergency custodial orders and mental health emergencies.

• Judges from other units or retired judges may sit on these emergency hearings remotely.

• Any non-emergency hearings currently scheduled for this period will be rescheduled.

• Individuals can still call or email the courts, though some calls will be directed to the

Information Center first.

• Individuals can still deposit paperwork at the courts’ drop boxes and pick up court forms at

court entrances.

The Phase III roll out encompasses staff and courts from seven buildings across four counties. Court

staff, finance staff, and RIS staff will be managing data conversion, performing manual data entry,

and scanning paper files into Odyssey. This dedicated time is essential to ensure a successful

transition onto the new case management system. We appreciate your patience and consideration

during this time.

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.