CR28-681. Carrying a Weapon While Committing a Felony, 13 V.S.A. § 4005 (08/01/25)
Reporter’s Note
Although a defendant’s possession of a weapon must bear some relationship to the felony committed while possessing it, “this relationship does not require that the weapon be used or brandished.” State v. Carter, 156 Vt. 437, 442 (1991). Rather, “[i]t is enough that the weapon had the potential of facilitating the commission of the underlying felony.” Id. For additional clarifying language, see State v. Lafayette, 2024 VT 6, ¶ 13, 219 Vt. 32.
The Supreme Court has held that a failure to explicitly instruct the jury that it must find such a relationship is not plain error where the instruction requires a finding that the defendant carried the weapon “while” committing the felony, and where the relationship was “patent” or “self-evident.” See Carter, 156 Vt. at 442–43; Lafayette, 2024 VT 6, ¶ 22.
Note that there appears to be no explicit statutory definition for the term “dangerous or deadly weapon” in 13 V.S.A. § 4005. The definition for that term used in the model instruction is drawn from 13 V.S.A. § 4016(a)(2).