Justia Vermont Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Defendant Rein Kolts appealed his conviction by jury of the aggravated sexual assault of a child. On appeal, he argued: (1) his confession that he repeatedly had sex with his niece should have been suppressed because law enforcement obtained it by interrogating him in a custodial setting without advising him of his Miranda rights; (2) the confession was involuntary because he was coerced by police; (3) the trial court abused its discretion when it excluded testimony by his two expert witnesses; and (4) the trial court erred when it instructed the jury that it could decide that he confessed voluntarily even if it determined that the police’s use of psychological tactics contributed to his confession. Finding no reversible error, the Vermont Supreme Court affirmed. View "Vermont v. Kolts" on Justia Law

The Vermont Supreme Court withdrew its July 6, 2018 opinion in this matter, determining the State did not have a statutory right to appeal in this case. Defendant Liana Roy was charged with custodial interference for taking her four-year-old daughter, who was then in custody of the Department for Children and Families (DCF), on a two-day trip out of the state without DCF’s permission. After the State rested its evidence at trial, defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal, arguing the evidence failed to demonstrate that she interfered with DCF’s custody to the degree necessary for 13 V.S.A.2451 to apply. At most, defendant argued, this was just “a visit gone bad.” The court denied this motion, holding that the State established the essential elements of its case. After defendant presented her evidence and the State called a rebuttal witness, the State rested and defendant renewed her motion for a judgment of acquittal. The court again denied the motion. The jury convicted. Defendant subsequently moved to set aside the verdict, V.R.Cr.P. 29(c), or for a new trial, V.R.Cr.P. 33, arguing that nothing in the custody order specifically put defendant on notice that she was acting in violation of the authority of the legal custodian, so the State had failed to demonstrate the requisite intent to deprive or interfere with DCF’s custody. The trial court agreed and issued a written decision in July 2017 granting defendant’s motion for a judgment of acquittal. The court noted that “the jury’s verdict was reasonable” based on the instructions given during the trial. But the court explained that it had erred in not instructing the jury that, to prove custodial interference when DCF is the custodian, the State must produce evidence of “a court order . . . detail[ing] the parent-child contact parameters.” In this amended opinion, the Supreme Court considered whether the State had a statutory right to appeal the trial court’s post-guilty-verdict judgment of acquittal, and, if not, whether the Supreme Court should use its authority pursuant to Vermont Rule of Appellate Procedure 21 to grant the State the extraordinary remedy of reversing the trial court’s ruling and reinstating the guilty verdict. The Court concluded the State did not have a statutory right to appeal in this case, and declined to exercise its authority to grant extraordinary relief. View "Vermont v. Roy" on Justia Law

Defendant Kevin Cook conditionally pled guilty to driving under the influence. He appealed the trial court's denial of his motion to dismiss, in which he argued his failure to signal a turn was not illegal under the circumstances and thus did not give officers a reasonable, articulable suspicion to stop him. Finding that because Vermont’s motor-vehicle statutes required defendant to signal before turning, the officer here had a reasonable, articulable suspicion of wrongdoing. The Vermont Supreme Court therefore affirmed Cook's conviction. View "Vermont v. Cook" on Justia Law

In 2015, defendant Norman McAllister was charged with one count of sexual assault and two counts of procuring a person for the purposes of prostitution, based on allegations that defendant entered into a sex-for-rent arrangement with S.L., the complaining witness, and arranged for a third person to have sex with S.L. in exchange for payment of her electric bill. After a jury trial, defendant was convicted of one count of procuring a person for the purposes of prostitution - the sex-for-electric bill arrangement - and acquitted of the other two charges. Defendant appealed that conviction. The Vermont Supreme Court found the trial court erred in: (1) admitting inadmissible evidence of prior bad acts involving defendant’s uncharged conduct with a deceased third party; and (2) instructing the jury, mid-deliberations, to disregard unstricken and admitted testimony. Accordingly, the conviction was reversed and the matter remanded for a new trial. View "Vermont v. McAllister" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs Willis S. Sheldon, individually as the father of Dezirae Sheldon, and as administrator of the Estate of Dezirae Sheldon, appealed the grant of summary judgment to defendant Nicholas Ruggiero, an administrative reviewer with the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF). Plaintiffs argued that defendant negligently failed to report an allegation that Dezirae’s stepfather Dennis Duby abused Dezirae, eventually leading to Dezirae’s murder at Duby’s hands. Plaintiffs presented alternative theories for defendant’s liability under: (1) Vermont’s mandated-reporter statute, which they argued created a private right of action; (2) common-law negligence; or (3) negligent undertaking. After review, the Vermont Supreme Court concluded that even if the mandated-reporter statute creates a private right of action, or alternatively, even if defendant had a common-law duty to report suspected abuse, plaintiffs’ negligent-undertaking claim failed because defendant acted reasonably and prudently in his role as a DCF administrative reviewer. In addition, the Court concluded that defendant never undertook DCF’s statutory obligation to investigate all potential sources of Dezirae’s injuries. View "Sheldon v. Ruggiero" on Justia Law

Petitioner Anthony Bridger was denied habeas relief. On appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court, he sought credit for time served prior to his arraignment on burglary charges. The State cross-appealed, requesting the Supreme Court reverse the trial court's decision granting petitioner one day of credit. After review, the Supreme Court reversed the trial court's grant of one day of credit, and otherwise affirmed the trial court's decision. View "Bridger v. Systo" on Justia Law

Defendant Doug Finkle, Sr. appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress and dismiss. He was convicted on drug possession charges. He argued the police affidavit submitted in support of a request for a search warrant, which relied upon information provided by a confidential informant (CI), did not establish the requisite probable cause to issue the warrant and search his residence. He also argued his assertion of factual errors and omissions in the affidavit compelled the court to hold a hearing before denying the motion. Finding no reversible error, the Vermont Supreme Court affirmed. View "Vermont v. Finkle" on Justia Law

Defendant Donald Francis appealed his conviction of driving under the influence (DUI), arguing that the trial court impermissibly burdened the exercise of his Fourth Amendment rights when it allowed evidence of his refusal to submit to a warrantless blood draw and then instructed the jury that it was permitted but not required to draw an inference from that evidence. In addition, he argued this evidence should not have been admitted because it was not relevant and was unduly prejudicial. Based on its decision in Vermont v. Rajda, 2018 VT 72, the Vermont Supreme Court rejected defendant’s constitutional argument, and declined to address his unpreserved relevance and prejudice arguments. Accordingly, the Court affirmed. View "Vermont v. Francis" on Justia Law

Defendant Christopher Sullivan asked the Vermont Supreme Court to vacate his sentence and remand for resentencing with a different judge. This was defendant’s second appeal following convictions for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor (DUI) with death resulting and for leaving the scene of a fatal accident. The trial judge sentenced defendant to two concurrent four- to ten-year terms. Defendant appealed, and the Supreme Court affirmed the convictions, but remanded for resentencing. The Supreme Court held the trial court had “abused its discretion by not continuing the sentencing hearing to allow defendant to present the testimony of his expert witness.” On remand, the same trial judge held a resentencing hearing, and after considering evidence from the first sentencing hearing and additional evidence, the trial judge reimposed two concurrent sentences of four to ten years, with credit for time served. Defendant contended the trial court did not have discretion to impose that sentence, arguing (1) the court did not have discretion to impose a minimum sentence above the statutory mandatory minimum absent a showing of aggravating factors; (2) to the extent the court’s findings support aggravating factors, those findings are incorrect and insufficient to support the sentence; and (3) the court abused its discretion in dismissing defendant’s mitigating evidence. Further, defendant argued the trial judge’s sentencing decision and process were driven by an impermissible personal animus against defendant. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed the sentence. View "Vermont v. Sullivan" on Justia Law

Defendant Victor Pixley was charged with unlawful trespass after he was found in an unoccupied farmhouse. Defendant testified that he was homeless, and he and his friend entered the property looking for a place to sleep. He stated that he entered the property at night and did not see any signs noticing against trespass. Defendant stated that he does not read so he would not have understood the signs in any event. In closing arguments, defendant admitted to entering the land and going into the farmhouse, but he argued that he was not provided with meaningful notice against trespass. Defendant appealed his eventual conviction, arguing the trial court's instruction to the jury on the notice element of the trespass charge amounted to plain error. Finding no reversible error, the Vermont Supreme Court affirmed. View "Vermont v. Pixley" on Justia Law