How Vermont handles a case
What happens after an arrest anywhere in Vermont: who decides release first, how fast a person sees a judge, which courts hear the case, and who runs the offices around them. Every county in the state works under these rules.
From arrest to court
- Who decides release first
After an arrest, the officer must call a judicial officer, a Superior Court judge or a court clerk, to set temporary release. For charges carrying less than two years, a person the Court Administrator designates may also set bail.
13 V.S.A. 7554(f) and 7559a- Time to see a judge
The rules say an arrested person must be brought before a judicial officer without unnecessary delay, and set no hour limit. The U.S. Supreme Court's 48-hour rule for a probable cause finding applies as the federal floor.
V.R.Cr.P. 3(k)- Money bail
Money bail is allowed. Since 2018, a court may not set bail at first appearance for a cited misdemeanor, and may set at most $200 for a misdemeanor eligible for expungement.
13 V.S.A. 7551(b)- Pretrial risk assessment
State law lets a judge ask a pretrial services coordinator for a flight-risk assessment when a person can't post bail within 24 hours. The statute does not name a tool.
13 V.S.A. 7554c- Courts
Vermont has one trial court, the Superior Court, with a unit in each county. Its criminal division hears all crimes, felonies and misdemeanors alike. The Judicial Bureau hears civil violations, not crimes.
Vermont Judiciary, About the Vermont Judiciary- Judges and magistrates
The governor appoints judges, and the state Senate confirms them, for six-year terms. At the end of each term, the General Assembly votes on whether the judge stays.
Vt. Const. ch. II, s. 32 and 34- Prosecutors
Each county elects a state's attorney to a four-year term.
Vt. Const. ch. II, s. 50- Public defense
The Defender General, a state office, represents people who can't afford a lawyer, through staff public defenders and contract lawyers.
13 V.S.A. 5253- Jails
Vermont has no county jails. The state Department of Corrections holds people awaiting trial and people serving sentences.
28 V.S.A. 102
Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. The state constitution says state's attorney districts are set by law; that each county is one district was not read in the statute. Whether clerks or designees who set bail must be lawyers was not confirmed.