§ 444a - Essex county; powers of Essex county assistant judges in district court.
[Section 444a repealed by its own terms effective upon vacating of office by Essex County senior assistant judge; see subsection (c) set out below.]
§ 444a. Essex county; powers of Essex county assistant judges in district court.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the senior assistant judge of Essex County may elect to act as a district court judge, and the administrative judge shall so appoint, for the purpose of hearing and disposing of initial appearances before a judicial officer under Rule 5 of the Vermont Rules of Criminal Procedure, arraignments under Rule 10 of the Vermont Rules of Criminal Procedure and pleas under Rule 11 of the Vermont Rules of Criminal Procedure taken at the initial appearance or at the arraignment. Such assistant judge may also accept a plea under Rule 11 of the Vermont Rules of Criminal Procedure and impose a sentence and enter judgment on defendants who plead guilty or no contest to misdemeanors under Rule 32 of the Vermont Rules of Criminal Procedure.
(b) Appeals taken from decisions of the assistant judge under this section shall be heard before a presiding district court judge and shall be de novo or on the record at the discretion of the appellant.
(c) This section shall be repealed effective the date on which the senior assistant judge of Essex County holding office on May 1, 1996 vacates such office. (Added 1995, No. 181 (Adj. Sess.), § 5a, eff. Sept. 1, 1996; amended 1999, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 75, eff. May 24, 2000.)