State v. Peggy L. Shores, 179 A.3d 196

Defendant Peggy Shores charged with second-degree murder; arraigned Feb 23, 2017; State moved to hold without bail; weight-of-evidence hearing found evidence great and § 7554 factors weighed against release; denial affirmed on appeal.
First home-detention motion (proposed Wells address) filed May 10, 2017; hearing June 6, 2017; court denied on July 24, 2017 (not appealed).
Second home-detention motion filed July 25, 2017 proposing her Mount Tabor home (site of alleged killing); hearing Aug 31, 2017; transcripts and new testimony considered.
Trial court evaluated the three statutory § 7554b(b) factors: nature of the offense; defendant’s prior convictions/history/health/supervision/flight risk; and risk/burden to residents and public safety at proposed placement.
Court found (1) the violent facts and circumstances of the alleged killing weigh heavily against release; (2) defendant’s prior assault conviction(s) and history of violence outweigh her favorable supervision/medical/flight factors; and (3) despite the residence meeting DOC criteria, the remote placement combined with her violent history posed a public-safety risk—denying home detention.
On appeal, Supreme Court reviewed for abuse of discretion, found the trial court considered factors specific to defendant and affirmed the denial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether trial court abused discretion in denying home detention under 13 V.S.A. § 7554b(b)	State: denial supported by statutory factors and prior findings of high evidentiary weight	Shores: court improperly criticized home-detention program and relied on nature of the charge alone for factors two and three	Affirmed — no abuse of discretion; court considered defendant-specific factors and properly balanced the three § 7554b(b) elements
Whether reliance on earlier home-detention denial was improper	State: prior findings relevant and admissible; factual record incorporated	Shores: reuse of earlier ruling risked double-counting and undue emphasis on charge rather than defendant-specific evidence	Reuse was permissible; trial court relied on additional defendant-specific evidence and testimony

State v. Whiteway, 95 A.3d 1004 (Vt. 2014) (trial courts must analyze home-detention factors with defendant-specific findings and should not base denial on program criticism)
State v. Whiteway, 96 A.3d 473 (Vt. 2014) (appellate review standard and limits on substituting discretion in bail/home-detention determinations)
State v. Pelletier, 108 A.3d 221 (Vt. 2014) (defendant bears burden to show home detention appropriate and presumption favors incarceration when § 7553 applies)
State v. Blackmer, 631 A.2d 1134 (Vt. 1993) (when § 7553 governs, presumption switches so incarceration is the norm)