TERMINOLOGY
"Aggregate," in relation to contributions for a candidate, means not only contributions in cash or in kind made directly to a candidate's campaign committee, but also all contributions made indirectly with the understanding that they will be used to support the election of a candidate or to oppose the election of the candidate's opponent. See Rules 2.11 and 4.4.
"Continuing part-time judge" means a judge who serves repeatedly on a part-time basis by election or under a continuing appointment. The term includes probate and assistant judges. See Application, section B.
"Contribution" means both financial and in-kind contributions, such as goods, professional or volunteer services, advertising, and other types of assistance, which, if obtained by the recipient otherwise, would require a financial expenditure. See Rules 2.11, 2.13, 3.7, 4.1, and 4.4.
"De minimis," in the context of interests pertaining to disqualification of a judge, means an insignificant interest that could not raise a reasonable question regarding the judge's impartiality. See Rule 2.11.
"Domestic partner" means a person with whom another person maintains a household and an intimate relationship, other than a person to whom he or she is legally married. See Rules 2.11, 2.13, 3.13, and 3.14.
"Economic interest" means ownership of more than a de minimis legal or equitable interest. Except for situations in which the judge participates in the management of such a legal or equitable interest, or the interest could be substantially affected by the outcome of a proceeding before a judge, it does not include:
"Election" includes primary, general, and special elections, whether partisan or nonpartisan. See Rules 4.1, 4.3, and 4.4.
"Fiduciary" includes relationships such as executor, administrator, trustee, or guardian. See Rules 2.11, 3.2, and 3.8.
"Fourth degree of relationship" means relatives within the fourth degree of relationship: great-great grandparent, great-grandparent, grandparent, parent, great uncle, great aunt, uncle, aunt, brother, sister, first cousin, child, grandchild, great-grandchild, great-great grandchild, nephew, niece, great nephew, or great niece. See Rule 2.11.
"Impartial," "impartiality," and "impartially" mean absence of bias or prejudice in favor of, or against, particular parties or classes of parties, as well as maintenance of an open mind in considering issues that may come before a judge. See Canons 1, 2, and 4, and Rules 1.2, 2.2, 2.10, 2.11, 2.13, 3.1, 3.12, 3.13, 4.1, and 4.2.
"Impending matter" is a matter that is imminent or expected to occur in the near future. See Rules 2.9, 2.10, 3.13, and 4.1.
"Impropriety" includes conduct that violates the law, court rules, or provisions of this Code, and conduct that undermines a judge's independence, integrity, or impartiality. See Canon 1 and Rule 1.2.
"Independence" means a judge's freedom from influence or controls other than those established by law. See Canons 1 and 4, and Rules 1.2, 3.1, 3.12, 3.13, 4.1 and 4.2.
"Integrity" means probity, fairness, honesty, uprightness, and soundness of character. See Canon 1 and Rule 1.2.
"Judge" means anyone, whether or not a lawyer, who is an officer of the judicial system and who performs judicial functions, including an assistant judge, a probate judge, and an officer such as a magistrate, commissioner, traffic hearing officer, master, or referee. See Application, section A.
"Judicial candidate" means any person, including a sitting judge, who is seeking selection for or retention in judicial office by election or appointment. A person becomes a candidate for judicial office as soon as he or she makes a public announcement of candidacy, declares or files as a candidate with the election or appointment authority, authorizes or, where permitted, engages in solicitation or acceptance of contributions or support, or is nominated for election or appointment to office. See Rules 2.11, 4.1, 4.2, and 4.4.
"Knowingly," "knowledge," "known," and "knows" mean actual knowledge of the fact in question. A person's knowledge may be inferred from circumstances. See Rules 2.11, 2.13, 2.15, 2.16, 3.6, and 4.1.
"Law" encompasses court rules as well as statutes, constitutional provisions, and decisional law. See Rules 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.6, 2.7, 2.9, 3.1, 3.4, 3.9, 3.12, 3.13, 3.14, 3.15, 4.1(1) and 4.2(4).
"Member of the candidate's family" means a spouse, domestic partner, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, or other relative or person with whom the candidate maintains a close familial relationship.
"Member of the judge's family" means a spouse, domestic partner, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, or other relative or person with whom the judge maintains a close familial relationship. See Rules 3.7, 3.8, 3.10, and 3.11.
"Member of a judge's family residing in the judge's household" means any relative of a judge by blood or marriage, or a person treated by a judge as a member of the judge's family, who resides in the judge's household. See Rules 2.11 and 3.13.
"Nonpublic information" means information that is not available to the public. Nonpublic information may include, but is not limited to, information that is sealed by statute or court order or impounded or communicated in camera, and information offered in grand jury proceedings, presentencing reports, juvenile cases, or mental-health reports. See Rule 3.5.
"Pending matter" is a matter that has commenced. A matter continues to be pending through any appellate process until final disposition. See Rules 2.9, 2.10, 3.13, and 4.1.
"Periodic part-time judge" means a judge who serves or expects to serve once or only sporadically on a part-time basis under a separate appointment for each period of service or for each case heard. The term includes retired judges, acting judges, masters, and referees. See Application, section C.
"Personally solicit" means a direct request made by a judge or a judicial candidate for financial support or in-kind services, whether made by letter, telephone, or any other means of communication. See Rules 3.7 and 4.1.
"Political organization" means a political party or other group sponsored by or affiliated with a political party or candidate, the principal purpose of which is to further the election or appointment of candidates for political office. For purposes of this Code, the term does not include a judicial candidate's campaign committee created as authorized by Rule 4.4. See Rules 4.1 and 4.2.
Reporter's Notes
The Terminology section is taken from ABA Code 2007 with changes making clear the application of the Code to Vermont. For clarity, all terms requiring definition are included in this section even if used only once, in contrast to the ABA Code where single-use terms may be defined in the rule where they appear. See, e.g., continuing part-time judge, judge, and periodic part-time judge. The statement at the beginning of the Terminology section in ABA Code 2007, that terms in that section are followed by an asterisk on their first appearance in a rule, and the resulting asterisks in the text, have been deleted as confusing and unnecessary to an understanding of Vermont Code 2019.
Terms in the present section that were not found in the Terminology Section of Vermont Code 1994 include aggregate, contribution, domestic partner, impartial and derivatives, impending matter, impropriety, independence, integrity, judicial candidate, pending matter, periodic part-time judge, and personally solicit. No longer on the list are the following terms foun+d in the 1994 Code: appropriate authority, candidate, court personnel, and pro tempore part-time judge. See Reporter's Notes to Application Section; ABA Reporter's Explanation 76-78. "Appropriate authority" has been eliminated because Rule 2.15 concerning judicial and professional discipline now refers expressly to the Judicial Conduct and Professional Responsibility boards. "Court personnel" has been eliminated because it stated the obvious point that the term did not include lawyers in a proceeding, and the meaning of the term is otherwise obvious. See Rule 2.12(A) (judge's responsibility for "court staff, court officials, and others subject to the judge's direction and control").
Note that the Vermont Code 2019 substitutes "fourth," found in ABA Code 2007, with "third" to describe the degree of relationship involved. See Rule 2.11(a)(2); 12 V.S.A. § 61(a).