Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Evidence Gender Neutral topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee records no objection to gender‑neutral Rules of Evidence update
Summary
The Joint Judicial Rules Committee reviewed and recorded no objection to a promulgated change to the Vermont Rules of Evidence that removes gendered pronouns and assumptions from the rules, a change presented by Judge Dixon Corbett and described as uncontroversial.
Dixon Corbett, chair of the Vermont Rules of Evidence Committee, told the committee that the Rules of Evidence underwent a comprehensive review in 2024 and that the committee removed gendered pronouns and assumptions (for example, usage that assumed witnesses, defendants or experts were male). Corbett said the revisions replace pronouns with nouns and that the committee received no public comments when the item was posted for comment.
Chair Clarkson asked whether members had questions; none were raised and a motion to record no objection was seconded. The committee recorded the absence of objection in the minutes and moved on to other items.
Next steps: the promulgated gender‑neutral evidence rule will be treated as effective per the promulgation schedule; the Judicial Rules Committee noted appreciation for the work.
