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Judge Kevin Burton highlights statewide rotation to treatment courts, credits coordination for lowering backlogs
Summary
Judge Kevin Burton described his 13 years on the bench, a new single-judge rotation focused on treatment courts across multiple counties and credited coordinated teams and community providers with reducing caseload backlogs and supporting participant recovery
Judge Kevin Burton, appearing for retention, described a 13-year judicial career that has included rotations through Chittenden, Washington and other counties and—most recently—a statewide single-judge rotation focused on treatment courts.
Burton said he has presided in domestic abuse, juvenile, and criminal dockets and that during the COVID-19 pandemic he continued to hold abuse-and-neglect hearings in person because of the gravity of the issues. He told the committee that docket management—matching incoming filings with resolved matters—is “one of the hardest skills a judge can learn” and described efforts in multiple counties to resolve more cases each month than were filed.
Burton said the Supreme Court’s adoption of a one‑judge model allowed him to rotate across treatment courts in Rutland, Chittenden, Washington and Windsor counties and to push for consistent best practices. He described weekly or biweekly multidisciplinary treatment-team meetings that review every participant’s progress (urine testing, treatment engagement, housing, employment) and said the courts work with local providers—Howard Center in Chittenden, Rutland Mental Health, Community Care Network, HCRS and others—to coordinate services. He credited that structure with multiple graduations from treatment courts, including participants who entered from incarceration and later regained family connections and employment.
Committee members asked about the role of law enforcement in treatment-court teams; Burton highlighted Rutland’s approach of assigning a dedicated officer (Officer Rosario) who conducts outreach to absentees and supports participant accountability. He also described partnerships with sober-living and residential programs (noted locally as “Dispeness House” in committee remarks) to place individuals who otherwise would likely be incarcerated.
Burton said that treatment courts aim to keep “high-risk, high-need” people out of incarceration by addressing substance use disorders and co‑occurring mental health issues, describing a team that includes a PACE manager, clinical staff and community providers. He told the committee that treatment courts have graduated dozens of participants over two years and flagged contingency-management and medication-assisted approaches as promising practices.
On judicial temperament, Burton acknowledged mixed attorney comments (some called him “snarky” or “old school”), but pointed to a 98% recommendation for retention from the surveys he received and emphasized that court staff and non‑attorneys rated him highly. He said mentorship, docket-management skills and attention to staff and attorney coordination are key to reducing backlogs and improving outcomes.
