Vermont § 461c - Powers of assistant judges in divorce proceedings

§ 461c. Powers of assistant judges in divorce proceedings

• (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an assistant judge may
  elect to hear and determine a complaint or action that seeks a divorce, legal separation,
  or civil union dissolution in cases where a final stipulation of the parties has been
  filed with the court. (b) When an assistant judge elects to hear such cases, the clerk shall set it for hearing
  before the assistant judge if available. (c) Prior to hearing an uncontested domestic matter, an assistant judge shall sit with
  a Superior judge on domestic proceedings for a minimum of 100 hours, satisfactorily
  complete a minimum of 30 hours of training on subjects relevant to domestic proceedings
  and the Code of Judicial Conduct, and conduct a minimum of three uncontested domestic
  hearings with a Superior judge who shall, in the Superior judge’s sole discretion,
  certify to the Chief Superior Judge that the assistant judge is qualified to preside
  over matters under this section. Upon application of an assistant judge, some or all
  of these requirements may be waived by the Chief Superior Judge based on equivalent
  experience. The requirements set forth in this subsection shall only apply to assistant
  judges who elect to conduct uncontested final hearings in domestic cases after July
  1, 2010. An assistant judge already conducting hearings under this section as of July
  1, 2010 shall be deemed to have complied with these requirements. (Added 1993, No. 237 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. Nov. 1, 1994; amended 1995, No. 59, § 3; 1997, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 29b; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. July 1, 2022; 2021, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. May 31, 2022.)