Judiciary says remote hearings and new tech ease scheduling but corrections staffing and transport remain constraints

Vermont Judiciary officials told the House Judiciary Committee that remote hearings and recent technology upgrades have eased scheduling pressures and can reduce juror delay, but corrections staffing and limits on sheriff transports mean remote options cannot replace in-person trials or solve transport shortfalls.

The Judiciary representative told lawmakers the court system has “dedicated Internet circuits,” larger monitors and modular equipment that make remote hearings more reliable than earlier pandemic-era setups. “There is a place for remote hearings and they are critical to our ability to move forward,” the Judiciary representative said.

Why it matters: remote hearings can reduce the need to transport detained people to multiple courthouses, let attorneys appear in multiple counties on the same day, and avoid keeping jurors waiting while a single courtroom handles scheduling tasks. But correctional facilities and sheriffs face operational limits that make remote-only processing infeasible in many case types.

Officials described specific corrections-related constraints. The Judiciary representative said the Department of Corrections (DOC) has deployed additional remote-hearing devices in all but two correctional facilities and that DOC staff have used the devices for mental-health screening and other purposes, but that DOC has staffing and wiring limitations that limit full use of smaller “mini” remote devices inside jails. The Judiciary representative said tech staff and buildings-and-grounds personnel are working to resolve wiring and security issues for in-jail devices.

Committee members and witnesses stressed the difference between types of hearings: the Judiciary representative said the courts will not conduct criminal jury trials remotely and that some hearings must remain in-person. At the same time, initial regional arraignments are now done remotely in most courts.

Correctional staffing and transport limits were repeatedly flagged as a bottleneck. The Judiciary representative and other presenters said sheriffs do not have capacity to run frequent, same-day transports from every holding facility, and DOC case managers no longer routinely perform logistical tasks they once did (printing, scanning, and routing signed documents), which complicates remote plea and disposition workflows.

The Judiciary representative suggested one possible fix would be adding one staff position in each jail to serve as a case-management liaison to support remote hearings and document handling, but said filling such positions is a matter for DOC.

Next steps: the Judiciary representative said a joint hearing of House Corrections and House Judiciary on remote hearings and transports will be scheduled soon to dig deeper into transport, DOC staffing and sheriff capacity.

Ending: Committee members signaled interest in follow-up work with DOC, state’s attorneys and public defenders to identify practical, secure ways to expand remote hearings where appropriate while preserving in-person proceedings where needed.