Judiciary committee told 24 state transport deputies strain court scheduling; staff and sheriffs ask for six more

Committee members and law-enforcement leaders told the Judiciary Committee on an unspecified date that the state’s 24 state transport deputies are stretched thin and that the office has requested six additional deputies to reduce overtime, avoid single-officer transports and ease pressure on court scheduling.

The committee chair opened the hearing by saying the panel would focus on “how remote hearings are working and how transports are or are not working” as they affect case processing and time to disposition. Annie Noonan, a judiciary staffer, and a central office transport supervisor identified as Tim described the state transport program’s duties and limits, including that the 24 state transport deputies are intended to move detained people between correctional facilities and courthouses when a judge orders it.

Noonan and Tim told the committee the transport program is intended to supplement county sheriffs, not replace them, and that not every county has a state transport deputy assigned. They said multiple factors are straining the program: high demand as courts return to in-person calendars, fewer per-diem deputies available since the pandemic, and limits on relying on the Department of Corrections for ad hoc moves. Tim said the program has “only 24 staff and 14 counties,” that many transport days require two deputies for safety, and that county caseloads vary (for example, Chittenden runs more courts and therefore uses more deputy time).

Sheriffs told the committee the workload is…