{"id":470,"date":"2012-07-26T20:17:33","date_gmt":"2012-07-26T20:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/?page_id=470"},"modified":"2019-12-20T20:42:35","modified_gmt":"2019-12-20T20:42:35","slug":"abuse-and-cruelty","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/?page_id=470","title":{"rendered":"Animals, Children, and Vulnerable Adults"},"content":{"rendered":"

CR 28-104.\u00a0 Cruelty to a Child (misdemeanor)<\/a>, 13 V.S.A. \u00a7 1304(a) (01\/12\/18).\u00a0 Where the statute refers to a person who \u201cwilfully assaults, ill treats, neglects or abandons or exposes [the] child,\u201d the instruction ties the element of wilfulness to each of the possible specific allegations.\u00a0 The Vermont Supreme Court has stated, in reviewing a complaint of abandonment: \u201cIt was essential that the complaint allege that the abandonment was wilful and that it was done in a manner to cause the child unnecessary suffering or to endanger its health.\u201d\u00a0 State v. Greenough, 116 Vt. 277, 281 (1950).\u00a0 In this context, \u201cneglect\u201d is not synonymous with \u201cnegligence.\u201d\u00a0 See also<\/em> the instruction\u00a0on corporal punishment<\/a> as a defense to a charge of cruelty by assault.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The previous version of the statute referred to \u201ca child under ten years of age,\u201d but in the most recent amendment to the statute, the Legislature removed the \u201cunder ten years of age\u201d language and left the term \u201cchild\u201d undefined. See<\/em> 2015, No. 60, \u00a7 25, eff. July 1, 2015. Given that there is no other definition of \u201cchild\u201d in the statutes that explicitly applies to 13 V.S.A. \u00a7 1304, it is unclear at what age one qualifies as a \u201cchild\u201d for purposes of this crime. The revised instructions follow the statutory language. In a case where the child\u2019s age is an issue, the court will need to determine if further elaboration is necessary.<\/p>\n

Based on the statutory language, the State need not prove that the defendant\u2019s conduct actually caused harm to the child. See<\/em>, e.g.<\/em>, State v. Amsden<\/span>, 2013 VT 51, \u00b6\u00b6 30\u201336, 194 Vt. 128. However, there has been no definitive ruling on this point. The model instruction tracks the statutory language.<\/p>\n

CR 28-111.\u00a0 Cruelty to a Child (felony)<\/a>, 13 V.S.A. \u00a7 1304(b) (01\/12\/18). The felony version of the crime was added by the Legislature to cover situations where the child dies, suffers serious bodily injury, or is subject to sexual conduct. See<\/em> 2015, No. 60, \u00a7 25. In appropriate cases, further elaboration of legal causation may be necessary. In that event, the court might consider inserting the general instruction on causation, CR09-051<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CR28-161.\u00a0 Cruelty to Animals<\/a>, 13 V.S.A. \u00a7 352(4) (03\/03\/06).\u00a0\u00a0Parts of this instruction were drafted in connection with the trial in State v. Stevens<\/span>, 1481-11-01 Wrcr (DiMauro, J.).\u00a0 Ms. Stevens was charged under 13 V.S.A. \u00a7 352(4), which is a strict liability offense.\u00a0 See<\/em> State<\/span> v. Gadreault<\/span>, 171Vt. 534 (2000).\u00a0 She was found not guilty on all counts.<\/p>\n

The committee has also prepared jury interrogatories<\/a> for the charge of cruelty to animals, again originally drafted in connection with the trial in State v. Stevens<\/span>, 1481-11-01 Wrcr (DiMauro, J.).\u00a0 The form derives from the earlier case State v. Gadreault<\/span>, 171 Vt. 534 (2000), where Judge Cheever presided over the trial.\u00a0 When the State charges the defendant with various options under the statute, stated in the disjunctive, either the State must prove all of the options beyond a reasonable doubt, or the jury must complete jury interrogatories to insure that any verdict is unanimous.\u00a0 For discussion of this issue, see State v. McDermott<\/span>, 135 Vt. 47, 50-52 (1977).\u00a0 The form may be repeated and used for multiple counts.<\/p>\n

CR28-171. Aggravated Cruelty to Animals<\/a> (undue pain or suffering), 13 V.S.A. \u00a7 352a(1) (12\/20\/19).<\/p>\n

CR28-173. Aggravated Cruelty to Animals<\/a> (tortures, mutilates, or cruelly beats), 13 V.S.A. \u00a7 352a(2) (12\/20\/19).<\/p>\n

CR28-175. Aggravated Cruelty to Animals<\/a> (performance of official duties), 13 V.S.A.\u00a0\u00a7 352a(3) (12\/20\/19).\u00a0 The definitions of \u201canimal\u201d and \u201ctorture\u201d are from the statute. 13 V.S.A. \u00a7 351(1) and (10). The definition of \u201cmaliciously\u201d is derived from State v. Sylvester, 112 Vt. 202, 206 (1941) and State v. Muzzy, 87 Vt. 267, 268\u201369 (1913) (holding that \u201cmaliciously\u201d has a \u201cdarker meaning\u201d than the term \u201cwillfully,\u201d and requires \u201ca deliberate and evil intention\u201d).<\/p>\n

CR28-911.\u00a0 Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult<\/a>, 13 VSA \u00a7 1376(a) (04\/04\/07).<\/p>\n

CR28-921.\u00a0 Financial Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult ($500 or less)<\/a>, 13 V.S.A. \u00a7 1380(b) (11\/20\/17).<\/p>\n

CR28-926.\u00a0 Financial Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult (more than $500)<\/a>, 13 V.S.A. \u00a7 1380(c) (11\/20\/17).<\/p>\n

CR60-201.\u00a0 Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor<\/a>, 7 V.S.A. \u00a7 658(a)(1) (12\/12\/16).<\/p>\n

CR60-206.\u00a0 Enabling Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor<\/a>, 7 V.S.A. \u00a7 658(a)(2) (12\/12\/16).\u00a0In State v. Richland<\/span>, 2015 VT 126, \u00b6\u00b6 5\u201321, the Supreme Court held that, for the offense of enabling the consumption of alcohol by a minor, the term \u201cknowingly\u201d modifies the age element of 7 V.S.A. \u00a7 658(a)(2), and therefore the State must prove that the defendant knew the minor was under age 21. Thus, while furnishing or selling alcohol to a minor is a strict liability offense, see<\/em> State v. Kerr<\/span>, 143 Vt. 597, 605 (1983); 7 V.S.A. \u00a7 658(a)(1); CR60-201, the crime of enabling is not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CR 28-104.\u00a0 Cruelty to a Child (misdemeanor), 13 V.S.A. \u00a7 1304(a) (01\/12\/18).\u00a0 Where the statute refers to a person who \u201cwilfully assaults, ill treats, neglects or abandons or exposes [the] child,\u201d the instruction ties the element of wilfulness to each … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":436,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-470","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=470"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1535,"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/470\/revisions\/1535"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vtjuryinstructions.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}