Summary
The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Peggy L. Shores’s second request for home detention under 13 V.S.A. § 7554b while she was held without bail on a second-degree murder charge. The Court held that the trial court properly considered factors specific to Shores, including the nature of the offense, her history of violence, the proposed residence, and public-safety risks, and did not abuse its discretion.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the trial court improperly criticized the home-detention program rather than applying the defendant-specific factors required by State v. Whiteway.
- Whether the trial court improperly relied solely on the nature of the charged offense when evaluating the statutory factors governing home detention.
- Whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying defendant's second request for home detention under 13 V.S.A. § 7554b.
Holdings
- The trial court did not violate State v. Whiteway because it considered evidence specific to Shores and did not base its decision on systematic criticism of the home-detention program's administration.
- The trial court properly considered defendant-specific evidence under the second and third statutory factors and did not rely solely on the charged offense.
- The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Shores's request for home detention.
Key quotations
“A trial court’s decision to deny or grant a defendant’s request for home detention “must be rooted in factors specific to defendant under § 7554b(b).”” (¶ 8)
“On appeal, it is not this Court’s role to substitute its discretion and factfinding judgment for that of the trial court.” (¶ 11)
Factual background
Shores was charged with second-degree murder after allegedly shooting her husband in Mount Tabor, Vermont. She was held without bail after the trial court found the evidence of guilt great under 13 V.S.A. § 7553. In her second request for home detention, Shores proposed her Mount Tabor residence, and the trial court found that the nature of the offense, her prior convictions and history of violence, the residence's remoteness, and risks to public safety weighed against placement there.
Procedural history
Shores was charged with second-degree murder and held without bail after the trial court found that the evidence of guilt was great and that the statutory release factors weighed heavily against release. The trial court denied her first home-detention motion, which she did not appeal, and later denied a second motion proposing a different residence. The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed the second denial, concluding that the trial court properly considered defendant-specific statutory factors and did not abuse its discretion.