August 31, 2012: In State v. Bourn, 2012 VT 71 (Aug. 31, 2012), the Vermont Supreme Court held that the offense of aggravated assault by threatening to use a deadly weapon, 13 V.S.A. § 1024(a)(5), “requires that the actor subjectively intend to threaten another person with a deadly weapon.” The committee does not currently have an instruction for offenses arising under § 1024(a)(5).
In State v. Brandt, 2012 VT 73 (Aug. 31, 2012), the Vermont Supreme Court cautioned against the use of instructions on excited utterances, or other instructions that explain the admission of certain evidence to the jury, in the absence of special circumstances.