Vermont Statutes Title 24 Sec. 1936a
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 24 Sec. 1936a
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- Justice: when applied to a person, other than a Justice of the Supreme Court, shall mean a justice of the peace for the county for which he or she is elected or appointed. See
- Municipality: shall include a city, town, town school district, incorporated school or fire district or incorporated village, and all other governmental incorporated units. See
- Town: shall include city and wards or precincts therein; "selectboard members" and "board of civil authority" shall extend to and include the mayor and aldermen of cities; "trustees" shall extend to and include bailiffs of incorporated villages; and the laws applicable to the inhabitants and officers of towns shall be applicable to the inhabitants and similar officers of all municipal corporations. See
§ 1936a. Constables; powers and qualifications
(a) A town may vote at a special or annual town meeting to prohibit constables from exercising any law enforcement authority.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, constables may perform the following duties:
(1) the service of civil or criminal process, under 12 V.S.A. § 691;
(2) destruction of animals, in accordance with the provisions of 20 Vt. Stat. Ann. chapter 193;
(3) the killing of injured deer, under 10 V.S.A. § 4749;
(4) provision of assistance to the health officer in the discharge of the health officer’s duties, under 18 V.S.A. § 617;
(5) service as a Criminal Division of the Superior Court officer, under section 296 of this title;
(6) removal of disorderly people from town meeting, under 17 V.S.A. § 2659; and
(7) collection of taxes, when no tax collector is elected, as provided under section 1529 of this title.
(c) A constable who is not prohibited from exercising law enforcement authority under subsection (a) of this section may transport a person arrested by the constable for a violation of 23 V.S.A. § 1201 (DUI) to a police department outside the town for the purpose of DUI processing and may complete the processing if he or she has been certified by the Vermont Criminal Justice Council to do so.
(d) A municipal legislative body may vote to allow a constable elected or appointed in another municipality to exercise law enforcement authority in its municipality, provided that:
(1) the constable is not prohibited from exercising law enforcement authority under subsection (a) of this section;
(2) the constable is certified to exercise that level of authority under 20 V.S.A. § 2358; and
(3) the exercise of law enforcement authority is conducted in accordance with policies and procedures adopted by the legislative body establishing the circumstances under which the authority may be exercised. (Added 1991, No. 177 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 1997, No. 57, § 8, eff. June 26, 1997; 1999, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 27; 2007, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. July 1, 2010; 2009, No. 108 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238; 2013, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.), § 19, eff. July 1, 2015.)