State v. Liana M. Roy

Summary

The Vermont Supreme Court held that the State had no common-law or statutory right to appeal a post-guilty-verdict judgment of acquittal under 13 V.S.A. § 7403. The Court also declined to grant extraordinary relief under Vermont Rule of Appellate Procedure 21, concluding that the trial court’s legal error did not constitute a usurpation of power. The Court withdrew its prior opinion, dismissed the appeal, and denied extraordinary relief.

Holdings

1. The State had no common-law or statutory right to appeal the trial court's post-guilty-verdict judgment of acquittal. The plain language and history of 13 V.S.A. § 7403 authorize appeals in specified circumstances but do not include judgments of acquittal.
2. The Court declined to exercise its authority to grant extraordinary relief reversing the judgment of acquittal, even though it concluded that the trial court had erred in interpreting the custodial-interference statute.

Questions Presented

1. Whether 13 V.S.A. § 7403 gives the State a statutory right to appeal a post-guilty-verdict judgment of acquittal entered under Vermont Rule of Criminal Procedure 29(c).
2. Whether the Vermont Supreme Court should treat the State's appeal as a petition for extraordinary relief under Vermont Rule of Appellate Procedure 21 and reverse the judgment of acquittal.

Disposition

dismissed