Ruminations |
ownership of an automobile involved in an accident arises a rebuttable presumption that at the time the automobile was being operated by him or by his agent acting within the scope of his duty .” 51
There was another caesura . From 1956 to 1977 there were no overrulings , at least not explicit reversals of precedent . But after that date , the pace accelerated , as more precedents fell beneath the recognition of better law .
1970s and 1980s
In 1977 the high court overruled Michlin v . Roberts ( 1974 ), rejecting the “ matter of public interest ” test for prosecutions of defamation , explaining that “ it is the status of the individual , rather than the nature of the matter in which he is involved , that triggers the requirement for showing actual malice .” 52 State v . Nicasio ( 1978 ) was overruled in State v . Savo ( 1981 ) to the extent that it “ intimates that unlawful entry of a locked nonresidence is a lesser included offense of burglary in the nighttime .” 53 In 1980 , Whitney v . Fisher recognized it was proper to consider a woman ’ s loss of consortium in claims for damages . Three earlier cases were overruled accordingly . 54 In 1985 , in Hay v . Medical Center Hospital of Vermont , the court overruled Whitney to the extent that it doubted whether a child
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could bring a claim of loss of parental consortium . The Westlaw caption is that Hay “ disavowed ” the holding of Whitney .
The 1981 decision in State v . Derouchie overruled a line of cases , including State v . Larose ( 1980 ), concluding that the test of excluding every reasonable hypothesis of innocence was an analytical device intended to implement the reasonable doubt standard of proof , rather than a substantive aspect of reasonable doubt review , and that trial courts are not required to give a charge of circumstantial evidence in their instructions . Justice William Hill explained , “ there is only one standard of proof for criminal convictions , whether the evidence is direct , circumstantial , or a combination of both .” The standard is “ whether the evidence , when viewed in the light most favorable to the State , is sufficient to convince a reasonable trier of fact that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt .” 55
Perhaps the most important constitutional case in decades is State v . Badger ( 1982 ), which overruled State v . Stacy ( 1932 ), prohibiting the admission of evidence of contraband seized in violation of the Vermont Constitution . Stacy had overruled State v . Slamon ( 1901 ), which had required suppression of that evidence . “ Thus ,” wrote Justice William Hill , “ our decisions have come full circle .” 56 This is a triple . The full
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circle is a manifestation of a major shift in the jurisprudence , and the first flowering of a new era in which the Vermont Constitution will be recognized for its differences with the federal constitution , and its significance as the fundamental law of Vermont .
In 1982 , State v . Gates overruled State v . St . Amour ( 1980 ), prohibiting charging the jury of the prosecutor ’ s duty to call witnesses and vindicate the innocent , as it “ serves no good purpose and can only mislead the jury .” 57 Hojaboom v . Town of Swanton ( 1982 ) decided that the inadequate findings of a board of civil authority could lead to reversal , if they failed to explain articulately what was decided and why . 58 In 1992 , the court in Harris v . Town of Waltham explained that the statute had superseded the ruling in Hojaboom , now requiring only a notice of decision “ with reasons ,” a lesser standard of explanation . In 2014 , in its decision in Guntlow v . Board of Abatement , Town of Pownal , the Supreme Court distinguished the law on findings as applied to abatement from that statutorily allowed for tax appeals , and reversed and remanded an appeal for failing to meet the higher standard . 59 In 1983 , the 1942 decision in Lanour v . Herald & Globe Ass ’ n was overruled by Lent v . Hunton , holding there can be no recovery of general damages in a libel suit without proof of loss or injury . 60
Then came Soucy . No overruling case created more controversy , or more difficulty for the administration of the courts . The 1983 decision of Soucy v . Soucy Motors , Inc ., held that assistant judges did not belong in cases where the court was expected to exercise equity jurisdiction , and that the presence of even one assistant judge was reversible error as the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case , based on a statute . 61 Soucy was later limited by State v . Willis ( 1985 ), where the high court concluded that the presence of side judges at the outset of a trial was not reversible error . 62 Soucy also held that there can be no harmless jurisdictional error , and in the process overruled four previous Vermont decisions , all of which had not treated the error of side judges participating in cases requiring the exercise of equity as material . 63 It is impossible not to mark the Soucy decision as one of the watersheds of the development of the modern approach to equity .
In 1985 , the court in City of Rutland v . McDonald ’ s Corp . overruled Potter v . Hartford Zoning Board of Adjustment ( 1979 ), holding that an appeal from the trial court is the exclusive remedy for landowners , even when the decision of the local zoning board failed the test of explaining clearly why a decision was reached . There would be no deemed approval in that instance . 64 The de novo hearing before the trial court would protect the appellant ’ s rights , and ensure an objective decision , when local
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