State v. Lambert, 84-538
| Decision Date | 02 January 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 84-538,84-538 |
| Citation | 145 Vt. 315,487 A.2d 172 |
| Parties | STATE of Vermont v. Sue Ann LAMBERT. |
| Court | Vermont Supreme Court |
Helen V. Torino, Franklin County State's Atty., St. Albans, for plaintiff-appellee.
Daniel Albert, Public Defender, St. Albans, for defendant-appellant.
Defendant, Sue Ann Lambert, pleaded not guilty to a charge of second degree murder. At the State's request, the district court denied the defendant bail. Following a hearing on a Motion for Review of Bail, the district court affirmed its prior order. Defendant appeals from this ruling. The district court's order is reversed, and this case is remanded for further proceedings on the issue of bail.
In denying bail to the defendant, the district court relied solely on a recent amendment to the Vermont Constitution, which states:
Excessive bail shall not be exacted for bailable offenses. All persons, unless sentenced, or unless committed for offenses punishable by death or life imprisonment when the evidence of guilt is great, shall be bailable by sufficient sureties. Persons committed for offenses punishable by death or life imprisonment, when the evidence of guilt is great, shall not be bailable as a matter of right. No person shall be imprisoned for debt.
Vt. Const. ch. II, § 40 (April 13, 1982) ().
The district court found that the defendant was charged with second degree murder, which offense carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The court further found that the evidence of guilt was great. Based on these findings, the court determined that the defendant was not bailable as a matter of right. Relying solely on the Constitutional Amendment, the court, in the exercise of its perceived discretion, then denied the defendant bail.
13 V.S.A. ch. 229 embodies statutory provisions for bail and recognizances. 13 V.S.A. § 7554 () provides for the release, prior to trial, of persons charged with noncapital offenses. The Statute states in pertinent part:
(a) Any person charged with an offense other than an offense punishable by death, shall at his appearance before a judicial officer be ordered released pending trial on his personal recognizance or upon the execution of an unsecured appearance bond in an amount specified by the judicial officer, unless the officer determines in the exercise of his discretion that such a release will not reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required, or that the release of the person will constitute a danger to the public.
Because the defendant is not charged with an offense punishable by death, under the Statute, she may be entitled to bail. The issue presented is whether the Statute conflicts with the Amendment in such a way that the Amendment impliedly repealed the Statute and forecloses the defendant from claiming any right to bail.
The State argues that the Statute must be read as if amended or repealed in part, by the Constitutional Amendment. To...
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State v. Madison
...in amending the bail statute, not the intent of the voters in adopting Proposal 7, must control our decision. Citing State v. Lambert, 145 Vt. 315, 487 A.2d 172 (1985), defendant contends that this Court must provide him the process intended by the legislature because the constitutional ame......
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State Of Vt. v. Pellerin
...a statutory change was therefore necessary before courts could deny bail under the new constitutional amendment. See State v. Lambert, 145 Vt. 315, 487 A.2d 172 (1985). In Lambert, a trial court applied the recently adopted constitutional amendment to a defendant charged with second-degree ......
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