Vermont v. Urban

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Defendant Landon Urban appealed a trial court's imposition of probationary conditions in connection with a plea agreement. In May 2016, defendant was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and simple assault arising from an altercation at a mud bog event in Ferrisburgh. The arresting officer’s affidavit indicated defendant appeared extremely intoxicated when the officer spoke with him shortly after the incident. The charges were tried to a jury in September 2016, resulting in a conviction on the simple assault count. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the count alleging aggravated assault. In February 2017, the parties reached a plea agreement wherein defendant agreed to plead nolo contendere to the aggravated assault charge in exchange for concurrent sentences on both the aggravated assault and the simple assault charges. The plea agreement provided that a portion of the sentences was suspended, and defendant was placed on probation for a period of two years. Defendant argued on appeal that a condition forbidding the purchase, possession, or consumption of alcohol, to which he objected at sentencing, violated public policy or was unduly restrictive. He further contended, for various reasons, that additional conditions to which he agreed in the plea agreement should be modified or vacated. Finding no reversible error, the Vermont Supreme Court affirmed. View "Vermont v. Urban" on Justia Law