State of VermontOffice of the Secretary of State
State of VermontTo become a justice of the peace, you must be elected at a general election, or appointed to fill a vacancy.
To be elected, you must be a legal voter of the town and have been nominated by party caucus or, failing that, by the town committee. You may also run as an independent.
EDITOR'S NOTE: New law provides for the election of independent justices of the peace. More about "Act 95 of 1996" appears below, on this page.
Nomination by party caucus requires that the party members in the municipality meet at a duly-warned meeting on or before the first Tuesday in September in even-numbered years.
"Duly warned" means a posted notice of the caucus in at least three public places in town not less than seven days before the caucus. In towns having a population of more than 1000, notice shall also be published in a newspaper not less than three days before the caucus.
In towns without a formally organized party, three members of the party who are voters may call the caucus, elect a chair and secretary, and nominate its candidates. 17 V.S.A. § 2413.
If a caucus is not held on or before the first Tuesday in September, the town committee may nominate justices at a meeting called by the town chair or by three members if the chair fails to do so.
Five days written notice is required to each committee member.
Nomination must be by majority of those present and voting, and if no candidate receives a majority after two ballots, the candidate with the lowest number of votes in the second and each succeeding ballot shall be eliminated until a candidate receives a majority. 17 V.S.A. §§ 2383, 2384.
In nominations by caucus and by committee, the committee chair and secretary must prepare an official statement of nomination, signed by them, with a copy of the notice of the meeting, and file the documents with the town or city clerk not later than 47 days before the first Tuesday in November, the day of the General Election.
Before filing this statement and notice, the officers should check with each nominee and confirm that he or she consents to have his or her name printed on the ballot and to serve if elected. 17 V.S.A. §§ 2385, 2386, 2387.
Act 95 of 1996 added provisions to Vermont law allowing candidates for justice of the peace to run on the General Election ballot as independents. Independent candidates must collect the signatures of 30 or one percent of the legal voters of the municipality, whichever is less. Petition and consent forms must be filed with the town clerk not more than sixty days before the day of the general election and not later than 5:00 p.m. on the forty-seventh day before the day of the general election. 17 V.S.A. § 2386, 2401.
If you were not nominated by party caucus or committee and failed to file petitions by the appropriate deadline, running as a write- in candidate on the General Election ballot is another option.
The Vermont Constitution prescribes the number of justices of the peace for every town on the basis of population. In each case, the Constitution sets a maximum number of justices that may be elected; there is no requirement that the town elect this number.
Towns with populations of less than 1,000 may elect as many as five justices of the peace. Towns with populations of 1,000 and less than 2,000 may elect seven; of 2,000 and less than 3,000, ten; 3,000 and less than 5,000, twelve; of 5,000 and above, fifteen. Vermont Constitution, Chapter II, Section 52.
If, after a census, a town's population has increased sufficiently to meet the threshold for electing additional justices of the peace, the question of whether to elect that increased number of justices should be posed to the voters at an annual or special meeting.
APPOINTMENT: Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of justice of the peace, the Governor may appoint a successor. A vacancy can occur by resignation, death, insanity or by the change of residence of an incumbent to another state.Moving to another Vermont town or county is not sufficient grounds for creating a vacancy, however, although justices usually resign when they leave town.
Before making the decision on whom to appoint, the Governor may request the town committee to submit one or more recommendations. The Governor may appoint a qualified person - a legal resident of the town, and usually a member of the party of the former justice of the peace -- whether or not the appointee is recommended by the party committee, for the remaining portion of the term. 17 V.S.A. § 2623.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: As a candidate for election to the office of justice of the peace, you are required to file campaign finance reports once you have accepted contributions or made expenditures of $500 or more. If you neither accept nor spend $500 in your campaign, you need not file any reports.Forms for these filings are available from your town clerk or the Secretary of State. You must file reports in the office of the town clerk, if you have reached the $500 threshold.
Reports must be filed at least three times -- ten days before the primary election; ten days before the general election; and a final report 30 days after the general election. Reports must cover all contributions, debts, loans and expenditures for the period to date. Please consult the Vermont Campaign Finance Guide for further details. You can get a copy of this publication by calling the Secretary of State's office at 1-800-439-8683.
AFTER YOU ARE ELECTED, HOW YOU BECOME QUALIFIED: The term of a justice of the peace begins on February 1 of the year following the General Election, but a justice of the peace is not fully qualified until he or she has taken the oath of office and oath of allegiance and filed a notarized copy of those oaths with the town clerk. The Secretary of State will provide copies of these oath forms to every newly elected justice. 4 V.S.A. § 491.The required oaths are found in Chapter II, Section 56 of the Vermont Constitution.
The oath may be given by any justice of the supreme court, superior judge, assistant judge, justice of the peace, judge of the district court, notary public (including the town clerk) or the presiding officer, secretary or clerk of either house of the general assembly or by the governor. 12 V.S.A. § 5852.
Every newly elected justice of the peace must take the oaths at the beginning of his or her term of office; even if you have served continuously as a justice for years, you still must take the oaths before February 1 every time a new term begins.
Failing to file a copy of these oaths with the town clerk will prevent you from qualifying for office and from acting as a justice of the peace, and may also subject you to a fine of not more than $100.00. 4 V.S.A. § 492.
NEXT: GENERAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES OF A JUSTICE OF THE PEACE