Cases | State v. Blackmer, 631 A.2d 1134 | 2018
The defendant allegedly committed aggravated sexual assault on a minor while free on bail. The court ordered the defendant to be held without bail because of prior violations of bail conditions. The defendant appealed. The court held that: (1) denial of bail did not violate the state constitution because the State could show that evidence of guilt was great; (2) the trial court’s decision was not an abuse of discretion because it was supported by the record. The court held a hearing and had broad discretion. When the need for conditions of release is viewed in light of the possible punishment of life imprisonment, it is appropriate for the court to deny bail unless it is fully convinced that the the defendant will abide by conditions that would be imposed if the the defendant were released; (3) denial of bail did not deprive the defendant of substantive due process. The trial court was concerned with future compliance with conditions of release, rather than punishment for past actions. Further, the class of cases and the defendants for which there was no state constitutional right to bail was narrowed because the defendant faced possible life imprisonment and the court did not speculate about future compliance from a blank record; and (4) except for standard of proof, the decision met the requirements of procedural due process in the context of the Vermont bail decision-making scheme. The trial court’s failure to specify the standard of proof used was not plain error because the defendant never raised the issue at trial and never contested underlying facts.