Vermont Supreme Court Justice Carroll vacancy (August 2025)
| Vermont Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Carroll vacancy |
| Date: August 23, 2025 |
| Status: Retirement scheduled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: To be determined |
| Date: To be determined |
Vermont Supreme Court Justice Karen R. Carroll retired on August 23, 2025.[1][2] Carroll's replacement will be Governor Scott's (R) fourth nominee to the five-member supreme court.
In Vermont, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a hybrid judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission who has no majority of members selected either by the governor or the state Bar Association. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
When the state Senate is in session, midterm vacancies are filled by the same assisted appointment method otherwise used to select judges. If the Senate is not in session, the governor may choose to make an interim appointment until the Senate convenes and acts upon the appointment. The appointed justice will serve until the Senate consents to the appointment. If the appointment is confirmed, the appointee will serve a six-year term. If the appointment is not confirmed by the Senate, the judicial office will be vacated.[3]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Vermont Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2025.
Appointee candidates and nominations
Ballotpedia will post information on candidates and prospective appointees as information becomes available. If you know of information that should be included here, please email us.
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Vermont
In Vermont, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a hybrid judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission who has no majority of members selected either by the governor or the state Bar Association. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Vermont Supreme Court
Justices
Following Carroll's retirement, the Vermont Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ William Cohen | Appointed by Gov. Phil Scott (R) in 2019 | |
| ■ Harold Eaton | Appointed by Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) in 2014 | |
| ■ Nancy Waples | Appointed by Gov. Phil Scott (R) in 2022 | |
| ■ Paul Reiber | Appointed by Gov. James Douglas (R) in 2003 |
About the court
Founded in 1777, the Vermont Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has five judgeships. The current chief of the court is Paul Reiber. In 2018, the court decided 455 cases.
As of August 2025, three judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor and one was appointed by a Democratic governor.
The Vermont Supreme Court is located in Montpelier, Vermont.[4]
About Justice Carroll
- See also: Karen R. Carroll
Carroll graduated cum laude from Salve Regina College in 1985 with a B.A.S. in criminal justice and English and French literature. She received her J.D., cum laude, from Vermont Law School in 1988. Before serving on the Vermont Supreme Court, Carroll served as a judge for the Vermont Superior Courts in Bennington County, Vermont from 2000 to 2017. From 1994 to 2000, she worked as a prosecutor for the Southern Vermont Drug Task Force at the Vermont Attorney General's Office and a special assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont. She worked as the deputy state's attorney in Windham County from 1988 to 1994.[5]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2025
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2025
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2025. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2024.
| 2025 State Supreme Court Vacancies |
|---|
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Vermont Judiciary, "Vermont Supreme Court Associate Justice Karen Carroll to Retire in August," April 9, 2025
- ↑ State of Vermont Judicial Nominating Board, "Information Concerning Judicial Vacancy (Associate Justice)," May 9, 2025
- ↑ Vermont General Assembly, "Judiciary Department - § 33. Interim judicial appointments," accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ Vermont Judiciary, "Supreme Court," accessed August 20, 2021
- ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, "Civil Government: State of Vermont," 2013
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Federal courts:
Second Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Vermont • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Vermont
State courts:
Vermont Supreme Court • Vermont Superior Courts • Vermont Probate Court • Vermont Judicial Bureau
State resources:
Courts in Vermont • Vermont judicial elections • Judicial selection in Vermont
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