State v. Albarelli, 189 Vt. 293

Defendant Albarelli approached a Vermonters for Hope voter registration table on Church Street Mall; he engaged in a loud, increasingly agitated political tirade about Obama and Brzezinski.
Witnesses described his behavior as loud, disruptive, and intimidating, with escalating volume, pacing, and gesturing across about 20 minutes before leaving when asked.
A table volunteer testified she felt threatened by his tone and persistence, while another witness noted aggressive, irrational behavior but did not recall explicit threats.
Two days later, Albarelli returned with a companion, disrupted the table again, and a police officer issued a citation for disorderly conduct after he refused to identify himself.
He was charged in district court with disorderly conduct under 13 V.S.A. § 1026(1); after a jury trial, he was convicted and later sentenced to four to five days on a work crew.
On appeal, Albarelli challenged (a) sufficiency of evidence of threatening behavior and (b) the court’s construction of the statute as it applied to protected political speech.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was there sufficient evidence of threatening behavior to convict?	Albarelli	Albarelli	Insufficient; acquittal required

State v. Read, 165 Vt. 141 (1996) (conduct, not speech, under disorderly conduct)
State v. Begins, 147 Vt. 45 (1986) (fighting words/behavior; constitutional concerns)
State v. Colby, 2009 VT 28 (2009) (objective standard for evaluating conduct disturbing a meeting)
Gregory v. City of Chicago, 394 U.S. 111 (1969) (First Amendment concerns in disorderly conduct)
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942) (fighting words doctrine)