State's Attorney

V.S.A. tit. 24, ch. 5, subch. 7

in effect

24 V.S.A. § 361 General duties

361. General duties (a) A State’s Attorney shall prosecute for offenses committed within his or her county, and all matters and causes cognizable by the Supreme and Superior Courts on behalf of the State, file informations and prepare bills of indictment, deliver executions in favor of the State to an officer for collection immediately after final judgment, taking duplicate receipts therefor, one of which shall be sent to the Commissioner of Finance and Management, and take measures to collect fines and other demands or sums of money due to the State or county. (b) Part-time State’s Attorneys may represent private clients in Superior Court or the Supreme Court on the question of compensation in highway condemnation cases under the provisions of 19 V.S.A. chapter 5, in those cases where the condemned land is located in any county other than that county in which the State’s Attorney was elected. Amended 1959, No. 328 (Adj. Sess.), § 8(c); 1965, No. 194, § 10, eff. July 1, 1965, operative Feb. 1, 1967; 1969, No. 131, § 24, eff. April 23, 1969; 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 1975, No. 33, § 1, eff. April 11, 1975; 1983, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 5(b); 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 178.

24 V.S.A. § 362 Full-time State’s Attorneys; private law practice

362. Full-time State’s Attorneys; private law practice Elected State’s Attorneys shall devote full time to their duties and during their terms shall not engage in the private practice of law nor be a partner or associate of any person practicing law. The State’s Attorneys of Essex and Grand Isle Counties shall not serve on a full-time basis and shall not be subject to this section. Added 1967, No. 164, § 3, operative on Feb. 1, 1969; amended 1967, No. 363 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. Feb. 1, 1969; 1969, No. 266 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. April 8, 1970; 1971, No. 120, § 48, eff. July 1, 1971; 1971, No. 260 (Adj. Sess.), § 32; 1977, No. 63, § 1, eff. April 23, 1977; 2009, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § E.205.

24 V.S.A. § 363 Deputy State’s Attorneys

363. Deputy State’s Attorneys (a) A State’s Attorney may appoint as many deputy State’s Attorneys as necessary for the proper and efficient performance of the State’s Attorney’s office and may remove them at pleasure. The Executive Committee of the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs may authorize or direct the Department’s Executive Director to appoint deputy State’s Attorneys who shall have all of the same powers and duties of any other deputy State’s Attorney except that such deputies may prosecute cases in any county of the State. The Executive Committee shall have the authority to limit the term and scope of any such appointments and may remove such deputies at the Committee’s pleasure. (b) The pay for deputy State’s Attorneys shall be fixed by the Executive Director of the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs or through collective bargaining pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 27, but it shall not exceed the pay of the State’s Attorney making the appointment or other appointing authority. Deputy State’s Attorneys shall be compensated only for periods of actual performance of the duties of the office. Deputy State’s Attorneys shall be reimbursed for their necessary expenses incurred in connection with their official duties when approved by the State’s Attorneys and the Commissioner of Finance and Management. (c) Deputy State’s Attorneys shall exercise all the powers and duties of the State’s Attorneys except the power to designate someone to act in the event of their own disqualification. (d) Deputy State’s Attorneys may not enter upon the duties of the office until they have taken the oath or affirmation of allegiance to the State and the oath of office required by the Constitution, and until the oath together with their appointment is filed for record with the county clerk. If appointed and under oath, a deputy State’s Attorney appointed by a State’s attorney may prosecute cases in another county if the State’s Attorney in the other county files the deputy’s appointment in the other county clerk’s office. In case of a vacancy in the office of State’s Attorney, the appointment of the deputy, except for a deputy appointed by the Executive Committee or Executive Director, shall expire upon the appointment of a new State’s Attorney. Amended 1959, No. 253, eff. June 11, 1959; 1959, No. 328 (Adj. Sess.), § 8(c); 1967, No. 363 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1, 2, eff. March 27, 1968; 1969, No. 266 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. April 8, 1970; 1971, No. 120, § 49; 1971, No. 260 (Adj. Sess.), § 33; 1983, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 5(b); 2009, No. 58, § 24; 2017, No. 81, § 12, eff. June 15, 2017; 2023, No. 39, § 1a, eff. June 1, 2023.

24 V.S.A. § 364 Investigator

364. Investigator (a)(1) A State’s Attorney may appoint an investigator and, with the approval of the Governor, shall fix the investigator’s pay not to exceed that of a noncommissioned officer of the Department of Public Safety, and may remove the investigator at will. (2) An investigator shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in connection with his or her official duties when approved by the State’s Attorney and the Commissioner of Finance and Management. (3) Investigators shall take part in the investigation of crime, the detection of persons suspected of committing crimes, the preparation of any criminal cause for trial, and other tasks related to the office of the State’s Attorney. (4) No person may be appointed as an investigator unless he or she has had appropriate experience in investigative work for a period of not less than two years, including employment as a private detective or a law enforcement officer, or has successfully completed a course of training under 20 V.S.A. chapter 151. (b) A person appointed as an investigator who has obtained certification as a Level II or Level III law enforcement officer under the provisions of 20 V.S.A. § 2358 shall have the same powers as sheriffs in criminal matters and the enforcement of the law and in serving criminal process, and shall have all the immunities and matters of defense now available or hereafter made available to sheriffs in a suit brought against them in consequence for acts done in the course of their employment. Added 1959, No. 299, § 1; amended 1967, No. 368 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. March 27, 1968; 1969, No. 266 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. April 8, 1970; 1971, No. 120, § 50, eff. July 1, 1971; 1973, No. 77, § 55, eff. July 1, 1973; 1981, No. 108, § 327; 1989, No. 297 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1995, No. 123 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. June 6, 1996; 2003, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 15; 2007, No. 7, § 7; 2013, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. July 1, 2015.

24 V.S.A. § 365 Penalty for taking bribe

365. Penalty for taking bribe A State’s Attorney who, directly or indirectly under color of his or her office, unlawfully receives to his or her use, or the use of another person, money or other valuable thing, shall be fined not less than $300.00 and shall be incapable of holding civil office in the State.

24 V.S.A. § 366 Deputy sheriffs; police school

366. Deputy sheriffs; police school Subject to the approval of the Attorney General, a State’s Attorney may enroll a deputy sheriff in a police school for the purpose of receiving training in crime prevention, detection, and apprehension. The officer so enrolled shall receive compensation during the police school session in an amount fixed by the Attorney General which shall not exceed $20.00 per day. The officer so enrolled shall receive his or her necessary expenses. Bills for his or her compensation and expenses shall be sworn to by him or her. Upon approval by the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Finance shall issue his or her warrant in payment thereof. Added 1967, No. 368 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. March 27, 1968; amended 1983, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 5(b).

24 V.S.A. § 367 Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs

367. Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs (a) There is established a Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, which shall consist of the 14 State’s Attorneys and 14 sheriffs. The State’s Attorneys shall elect an Executive Committee of five State’s Attorneys from among their members. The members of the Executive Committee shall serve for terms of two years. (b) The Executive Committee and the Executive Committee of the Vermont Sheriff’s Association shall appoint an Executive Director who shall serve at the pleasure of the Committees. The Executive Director shall be an exempt employee. (c)(1) The Executive Director shall prepare and submit all budgetary and financial materials and forms that are required of the head of a department of State government with respect to all State funds appropriated for all of the Vermont State’s Attorneys and sheriffs. At the beginning of each fiscal year, the Executive Director, with the approval of the Executive Committee, shall establish allocations for each of the State’s Attorneys’ offices from the State’s Attorneys’ appropriation. Thereafter, the Executive Director shall exercise budgetary control over these allocations and the general appropriation for State’s Attorneys. The Executive Director shall monitor the sheriff’s transport budget and report to the sheriffs on a monthly basis the status of the budget. He or she shall provide centralized support services for the State’s Attorneys and sheriffs with respect to budgetary planning, training, and office management, and perform such other duties as the Executive Committee directs. The Executive Director may employ clerical staff as needed to carry out the functions of the Department. (2) The Executive Director shall prepare and submit a funding request to the Governor and the General Assembly for the purpose of securing General Fund appropriations for any increased costs related to a collective bargaining agreement and to the Department’s contract bargaining and administration. (d)(1) If an individual State’s Attorney is aggrieved by a decision of the Executive Director pertaining to an expenditure or proposed expenditure by the State’s Attorney, the question shall be decided by the Executive Committee. The decision of the Committee shall be final. (2) If an individual sheriff is aggrieved by a decision of the Executive Director pertaining to an expenditure or proposed expenditure by the sheriff, the question shall be decided by the Executive Committee of the Vermont Sheriff’s Association. The decision of the Executive Committee of the Vermont Sheriff’s Association shall be final. (e)(1) The Executive Director of the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs shall appoint a Director of Sheriffs’ Operations who shall serve at the pleasure of the Executive Director. (2) The Director of Sheriffs’ Operations shall provide centralized support services for the sheriffs with respect to budgetary planning, policy development and compliance, training, and office management, and perform such other duties as directed by the Executive Director. (3) The Director of Sheriffs’ Operations shall develop, maintain, and provide to each sheriff’s department model policies on operational topics, including service of civil process, relief from abuse orders, transportation of prisoners, ethics, and sheriffs’ responsibilities. Added 1983, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1985, No. 225 (Adj. Sess.), § 14; 2009, No. 33, § 83(j); 2013, No. 49, § 6; 2013, No. 95 (Adj. Sess.), § 82, eff. Feb. 25, 2014; 2017, No. 81, § 13, eff. June 15, 2017; 2023, No. 30, § 5b, eff. May 31, 2023.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/24/005Fetched: 10/21/2026