Judicial conduct and bar-discipline chairs tell committee H.1 consultation mandate would conflict with court confidentiality and procedure

Officials who oversee judicial and attorney discipline told the Senate Committee on Government Operations that H.1, which would require consultation with the State Ethics Commission on certain referred complaints, would conflict with existing court rules governing confidentiality and procedure.

Terry Corson, the state bar administrator, introduced witnesses including Merrill Bent, chair of the Judicial Conduct Board (JCB), and Carolyn Anderson, chair of the Professional Responsibility Board (PRB). Bent described the JCB process as a "very formal process" governed by rules promulgated by the Vermont Supreme Court. "The code applies to judges all the time, not only when they are performing their judicial functions," she said, and she noted the board's investigatory and subpoena powers, its quasi‑judicial procedures once a formal complaint is initiated, and the need to protect deliberations and confidentiality under court rules.

Anderson outlined the…