State v. Blow, 135 A.3d 672

Defendant was charged with second-degree murder after A.H. died from blunt head trauma while in defendant’s care; defendant offered inconsistent explanations and admitted injuries occurred.
Initial probable-cause findings led to detention without bail; a later hearing (Sept. 5, 2014) found the evidence “paper thin” and set bail at $25,000 with conditions.
The State obtained additional medical evidence indicating a fatal injury occurred on the morning of death, leading to renewed motions and evidentiary hearings in October and December 2014.
On December 29, 2014 the trial court, after receiving the new evidence, denied bail under 13 V.S.A. § 7553, finding the evidence of guilt great and noting seriousness of the offense and flight risk.
Defendant sought home detention; after a hearing the court denied the request (Oct. 14, 2015) under 13 V.S.A. § 7554b, finding subsections (1) and (2) weighed strongly against home detention despite subsection (3) favoring it.
Defendant appealed, arguing the court lacked authority to reconsider bail once bail had been granted and that the court abused its discretion in denying home detention.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Authority to deny/revoke bail after bail was granted	State: trial court may reconsider and deny bail under § 7553 after new evidence shows evidence of guilt is great	Defendant: once bail was set, only § 7575 revocation or § 7556(c) appeal could withdrawal bail; court lacked jurisdiction to deny bail later	Court: The trial court did not unlawfully revoke bail; it properly reassessed evidence under § 7553 and denied bail after record developed; no abuse of discretion
Standard and burden for incarceration vs. release	State: once evidence of guilt is great, presumption for incarceration applies and defendant must show bail appropriate	Defendant: contends procedural error and challenges factors used for home detention denial	Court: Confirms presumption under § 7553; state satisfied the great-evidence inquiry based on newly admitted medical testimony; no abuse of discretion
Home detention denial under § 7554b	State: court properly weighed the statutory three factors and imposed presumption in favor of incarceration	Defendant: court double-counted nature of the offense, failed to articulate individualized factors, and misstated home-detention effectiveness	Court: Court adequately considered all three § 7554b(b) factors, distinguished Whiteway I, and properly found defendant failed to meet burden for home detention

Whiteway v. State, 95 A.3d 1004 (Vt. 2014) (mem.) (articulates burden and review under § 7554b for home detention)
Duff v. State, 563 A.2d 258 (Vt. 1989) (defines "evidence of guilt is great" standard and court discretion under § 7553)
Blackmer v. State, 631 A.2d 1134 (Vt. 1993) (explains broad trial-court discretion and presumption favoring incarceration)
Passino v. State, 577 A.2d 281 (Vt. 1990) (inadmissible evidence cannot satisfy the great-evidence standard)
Avgoustov v. State, 907 A.2d 1185 (Vt. 2006) (appellate review of bail determinations relies on record below)
Pellerin v. State, 996 A.2d 204 (Vt. 2010) (standard of abuse of discretion for bail-related appeals)
Barrows v. State, 776 A.2d 431 (Vt. 2001) (review for abuse of discretion in pretrial detention decisions)