Cases | State v. Ashley, 632 A.2d 1368 | 2018
The defendant was arraigned on charges of sexually assaulting a minor. The court issued a Conditions of Release Order that required the defendant to post bail and refrain from associating with the victim. The defendant was unable to post bail and remained in custody, but contacted the victim via letters and telephone calls. The defendant was convicted of violating a condition of release and obstruction of justice. On appeal, the defendant claimed that: (1) a the defendant can violate conditions of release only if he is actually released; and (2) there was no obstruction of justice under Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13, § 3015 because intimidation must result in deterrence of the witness’s testimony or must occur by threat of physical force. The supreme court held that: (1) the trial court should have granted the defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal. The State’s evidence did not fairly and reasonably tend to show the defendant’s guilt on the charge of violation of a condition of his release when he was still in custody at the time the alleged violation occurred; and (2) the State’s evidence on the charge was sufficient to show that the defendant intimidated a witness by oral and written threats. The statute does not require that the witness be both afraid and deterred. Evidence was uncontroverted that the defendant’s letters and phone calls made the witness afraid and thus intimidated her. The communications posed a threat even though they did not include physical harm or force.