Windham County

Windham County follows Vermont law on arrests, release, and courts. These rules are the same in every county in the state; the full set covers prosecutors, defense, and jails too.

Who decides release first

After an arrest, the officer must call a judicial officer, a Superior Court judge or a court clerk, to set temporary release. For charges carrying less than two years, a person the Court Administrator designates may also set bail.

13 V.S.A. 7554(f) and 7559a

Time to see a judge

The rules say an arrested person must be brought before a judicial officer without unnecessary delay, and set no hour limit. The U.S. Supreme Court's 48-hour rule for a probable cause finding applies as the federal floor.

V.R.Cr.P. 3(k)

Money bail

Money bail is allowed. Since 2018, a court may not set bail at first appearance for a cited misdemeanor, and may set at most $200 for a misdemeanor eligible for expungement.

13 V.S.A. 7551(b)

Courts

Vermont has one trial court, the Superior Court, with a unit in each county. Its criminal division hears all crimes, felonies and misdemeanors alike. The Judicial Bureau hears civil violations, not crimes.

Vermont Judiciary, About the Vermont Judiciary

Judges and magistrates

The governor appoints judges, and the state Senate confirms them, for six-year terms. At the end of each term, the General Assembly votes on whether the judge stays.

Vt. Const. ch. II, s. 32 and 34

Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. The state constitution says state's attorney districts are set by law; that each county is one district was not read in the statute. Whether clerks or designees who set bail must be lawyers was not confirmed.

Pretrial practice

Mapping Pretrial Injustice listed its risk tool in 2021 as the Ohio Risk Assessment System Pretrial Assessment Tool (ORAS-PAT).

MediaJustice and Movement Alliance Project, Mapping Pretrial Injustice county map (data as of fall 2021)

From Mapping Pretrial Injustice, a map compiled by MediaJustice and the Movement Alliance Project, advocacy groups that campaign against pretrial risk assessment tools. Its data is from fall 2021; CrimeDB uses it only where no court, government, or research list covers the county.

• Brattleboro town12,122
• Rockingham town4,807
• Westminster town2,999
• Bellows Falls village2,891
• Vernon town2,709
• Putney town2,622
• Guilford town2,461
• Dummerston town2,090
• Londonderry town1,873
• Wilmington town1,747
• Townshend town1,538
• Dover town1,466
• Newfane town1,456
• Whitingham town1,368
• Marlboro town1,362
• Jamaica town882
• Halifax town847
• Wardsboro town820
• Grafton town666
• Windham town594
• Saxtons River village553
• Stratton town532
• Brookline town531
• Westminster village497
• Athens town431
• Newfane village141
• Jacksonville village106

Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Windham County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.

• State Police: WestminsterState police agency24,224 served
• Brattleboro Police DepartmentCity police department11,928 served
• Bellows Falls Police DepartmentCity police department2,728 served
• Wilmington Police DepartmentCity police department2,303 served
• No name VT0130600City police department2,171 served
• Windham County Sheriff's OfficeSheriff or county police2,171 served
• Dover Police DepartmentCity police department1,844 served
• No name VTVSP0400State police agency
• No name VTVSP1000State police agency

Agencies: FBI NIBRS master file 2025 batch headers; names from the FBI agency list, pulled 2026-09-29. An agency that serves several counties appears on each. Population served is the FBI's figure.