Judiciary officials brief Senate Judiciary on court unification, case backlog and remote hearings

Chief Superior Judge Zohne and Gary Corsales, state court administrator, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 21 that Vermont’s unified court system and recent staffing increases are helping reduce a COVID-era backlog and allow the courts to open more trial dates.

"Our goal is to make sure that you have the information that you need to make the policy and other decisions that you need to make on a daily basis here in the legislature," Gary Corsales said, describing the judiciary's role as a resource for lawmakers.

Why it matters: The committee heard that several operational changes — including filling judicial vacancies, assigning floating judges, better case coding and expanding trial calendars — are already lowering pending-case counts. Committee members sought detail on remote hearings, access for litigants without technology, and the resource needs tied to proposals such as expanded expungements.

Court structure and staffing Chief Superior Judge Zohne outlined the basic structure of Vermont’s unified court system, created by a 2010 unification effort, and described how trial-level work is organized. Superior Court judges handle criminal, family, civil and probate matters across 14 units; the Vermont Supreme Court is the sole appellate court.

Zohne described additional courthouse roles: five regional clerks, docket clerks who manage scheduling and record-keeping, magistrates (appointed by the governor) who mainly handle family-division matters, and elected probate and assistant judges who serve four-year terms and have limited jurisdiction. He said that, for the first time in a number of years, the superior court bench is at full complement, with one retirement expected in March.

Case management system and data Corsales briefed senators on the court’s case-management tooling, noting the system is referred to in committee briefings as both Odysee and Justice Enterprise. He said some requested data points are available immediately while others would require configuration changes to the case-management system.

Expungement processing and staffing need Committee members were told that expanding statutory expungement categories carries an operational cost. Corsales said processing expanded expungement work could require additional personnel and gave an estimate that certain expanded expungement workloads would require "five full-time persons" to process, a capacity consideration for any statutory expansion that creates new filing or screening requirements.

Remote and hybrid hearings: access, discretion, and safeguards Senators pressed the judiciary about when hearings are remote, hybrid or in person and whether litigants can meaningfully request in-person access. Zohne and Corsales told the committee that a judge has discretion to require an in-person hearing when the presentation of evidence or fairness to a party demands it. Corsales emphasized that remote hearings have produced efficiencies—particularly for attorneys who travel long distances—and that hybrid models are used when some participants must appear in person.

Committee members raised concerns about the power dynamic in remote proceedings: defense attorneys and others can feel unable to request in-person appearances. Zohne said judges are briefed to be vigilant to power imbalances and to accommodate litigants who demonstrate they cannot participate remotely or for whom remote participation would cause a disadvantage. He said, however, that a request to appear in person is not always guaranteed and will depend on case type, evidence needs and courtroom resources.

Backlog, trials and case prioritization Zohne described strategies to reduce backlog: adding judges, assigning floating judges to high-demand locations, appointing dedicated judges to treatment and juvenile dockets, scrutinizing miscoded cases, and increasing the number of trial days. He said adding trial days often causes cases to settle rather than proceed to trial, because imminent trial dates change parties’ incentives.

He walked senators through the trial-prioritization process: incarcerated defendants with statutory time limits come to the top of dockets; older cases and witness availability also affect trial scheduling. Zohne said courts try to provide reasonable notice (about 30 days) before multi-day trials to allow preparation and protect witnesses and families.

Process comments and next steps Corsales told the committee that when members of the public or practitioners report problems—such as inconsistent handling of in-person requests—the judiciary wants to be informed so it can correct course. Zohne said he would discuss the committee's concerns about remote access and backlog at an upcoming judges' meeting and that the courts plan to open additional trial days as newly appointed judges complete their training.

Ending: The committee said it will take a deeper dive into backlog metrics later in the week and expects court staff to provide data on remote-hearing rules, staffing needs for expanded statutory duties such as wider expungement categories, and the effects of added trial days on clearance rates.