The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
(Cite as: 13 V.S.A. § 2810)
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§ 2810. Commencement of civil action
(a) Whenever a prosecuting officer within this State has cause to believe that any person
is engaging in or is about to engage in this State in conduct prohibited by this chapter,
he or she may institute a civil action in the Superior Court in the county wherein
such act is believed to be taking place or about to take place seeking a declaratory
judgment that the material involved is in fact harmful to minors and seeking an injunction
against the prohibited conduct.
(b) Any person who has or is about to disseminate, exhibit, publicly display, or display
to minors the material involved in such a proceeding may, as a matter or right, intervene
in the proceedings and shall thereupon have all of the rights of a party and shall
be bound by a determination in the proceeding.
(c) The provisions of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure shall apply to a proceeding
hereunder except as otherwise provided or inconsistent with this chapter.
(d) Upon the issuance of a search warrant pursuant hereto by a judge of a Superior Court
of this State, a single copy of the material purportedly harmful to minors may be
seized to secure and preserve evidence for civil and criminal proceedings under this
chapter, subject to the following procedures:
(1) If only a single copy of such material is available within the jurisdiction, the defendant
shall provide a duplicate to or make that copy available for duplication by the prosecuting
officer during such period when the material is not on sale or exhibition.
(2) If only a single copy is available in the jurisdiction and circumstances prevent its
duplication as provided for in subdivision (1) of this subsection, the prosecuting
officer may, upon a showing of probable cause that such material will not be available
at trial, obtain a special warrant for the sole purpose of duplicating the material
to secure and preserve it as evidence. Application for the special warrant shall
be on notice to defendant and include a statement setting out the circumstances which
make duplication under subdivision (1) of this subsection impossible, the time and
date the materials are to be seized and specify the time and date, not to exceed 24-hours
after such seizure, when such material is to be returned. (Added 1973, No. 204 (Adj. Sess.), § 9.)