State v. Blaise

Summary

The Vermont Supreme Court held that the State failed to prove that Scott Blaise violated probation conditions concerning counseling, payment of fines, and community service. Because the erroneous violation findings may have affected the sentence imposed as part of a global resolution, the court reversed and remanded for resentencing.

Holdings

1. Blaise did not violate probation by leaving Teen Challenge because the probation contract did not require him to attend or complete that program.
2. The State failed to prove that Blaise violated the fine-payment condition because the probation contract listed the amount owed but did not establish a payment schedule, and the probation term had not expired when the complaint was filed.
3. The State failed to prove that Blaise violated the community-service condition because it did not show that completion was due before the complaint was filed and did not prove a requirement that the hours be verified in writing.
4. The errors were not harmless because the court could not know what sentence it would have imposed absent the three erroneous violation findings, particularly where the sentence resulted from a global resolution that took those findings into account.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Blaise violated probation by leaving Teen Challenge when the probation orders and written probation contract did not require him to attend or complete that program.
2. Whether the State proved by a preponderance of the evidence that Blaise violated the fine-payment condition when no payment schedule had been established and his probation term had not expired.
3. Whether the State proved by a preponderance of the evidence that Blaise violated the community-service condition by failing to complete or verify the required hours before the violation complaint was filed.
4. Whether the erroneous findings were harmless because Blaise admitted a separate violation and received a sentence based on a global resolution.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded