Vt. Memo to the Bar, Oct. 6, 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: Fifteenth Amendment to Administrative Order No. 49 – Declaration of Judicial

Emergency and Changes to Court Procedures & Miscellaneous Information

DATE: October 6, 2020

For your information, please find:

• AO 49 Amendment - Declaration of Judicial Emergency and Changes to Court Procedures 10-5-20

• 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 10-5-20

This Order was promulgated on October 5, 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 3 of A.O. 49 is amended to delete language that had suspended jury trials in criminal

cases until at least September 1, 2020. Civil jury trials remain suspended until at least January 1,

2021. Although there is no current suspension in effect for criminal jury trials, resumption of trials

will not happen simultaneously in all areas of the state. The Judiciary is taking steps to prepare

courthouses and courtrooms to maintain the safety of court staff, jurors, and trial participants. In

addition, the Judiciary is undertaking a public-education campaign to communicate to prospective

jurors and the public the measures that are being taken to safely resume jury trials.

The full Order and other updates regarding the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and court

operations are available at [https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/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 began

using Odyssey on September 1, with electronic filing scheduled to commence on or after October 19.

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.

Tyler Technologies eFiling Webinars Scheduling Update. The Tyler Technologies support team

has made changes to the October eFiling training schedule. Anyone who registered for a date that was

rescheduled should have received notification from Tyler via email. If you did not receive any notice,

please check your junk email folder. The October eFiling webinars will be offered on the following

dates:

Mon. Oct. 12, 2020 2PM-3PM

Wed. Oct. 14, 2020 2PM-3PM

Fri. Oct. 16, 2020 12PM-1PM

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-vermontjudiciary/electronic-access/electronic-filing.

For technical support regarding Odyssey File & Serve, please contact Tyler Technologies at 800-297-

5377 or efiling.support@tylertech.com

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.

For technical support regarding the Public Portal, please contact the Vermont Judiciary’s HelpDesk at

Jud.helpdesk@vermont.gov. When emailing, please write "Public Portal" in the subject line.

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.

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.