The Vermont Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence will hold its next meeting on Friday, January 23, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. The session will be conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams.
On the agenda is the approval of minutes from the October 3, 2025 meeting and an update on committee membership. Vanessa Kittell, Esq., has been appointed by the Court to fill a vacancy on the committee.
The committee will discuss ongoing matters including recent amendments to Vermont Rule of Evidence (V.R.E.) 106, known as the Rule of Completeness. The Court promulgated these amendments on October 29, 2025, and they became effective January 1, 2026. Judge Corbett addressed this amendment during his testimony before the Legislative Committee on Judicial Rules (LCJR) on December 12, 2025.
Amendments to V.R.E. 615 concerning exclusion of witnesses are also scheduled for discussion. The proposed changes were published for public comment; however, no comments were received by the December 29, 2025 deadline. Judge Corbett also testified about these proposed amendments before the LCJR in December. The committee plans to vote on whether to submit these amendments to the Court for promulgation.
Artificial intelligence and potential related amendments are another topic for review. This includes examination of a report from the Vermont Judiciary Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Courts Subcommittee on Rules by Attorney Miller, tentative input from Judge Marsh regarding feedback from the Vermont Bar Association (VBA), and consideration of proposed federal rules governing machine-generated evidence and deepfakes.
Other items include reviewing recent or proposed amendments to Federal Rules of Evidence (F.R.E.), general public comments, setting a date for the next meeting, and adjournment.
Those interested in attending should email aliza.harrigan@vtcourts.gov to request a meeting link.
