Weekly(ish) Update: July 18, 2020

Unoriginal Calendar
By Andy Delaney

One entry order snuck in presumably last Friday (but not posted when I did last week’s update). This case deals with speedy trial rights, hold-without-bail orders, and the trial court’s discretion to entertain a five-days-early release argument. Briefly, defendant was held without bail and was most likely going to be released due to the speedy trial rule . . . today, actually. His dad’s funeral was this Monday. The trial court thought it didn’t have discretion to entertain defendant’s motion for “early” release. SCOV disagrees, holds that the trial court does have discretion to entertain the motion, and sends it back to the trial court to potentially impose conditions and set bail. State v. White, 2020 VT 62 (mem.).

One opinion issued yesterday. It’s a straightforward issue. Prisoner filed a complaint. The trial court dismissed it. Prisoner didn’t receive actual notice that his case had been dismissed for several months. When he did find out about the dismissal, he filed a motion for relief from judgment so he could appeal the dismissal. The trial court treated the motion as a motion to extend the time to appeal and denied it because it was too late for that kind of motion. On appeal, SCOV reasons that prisoner’s motion was a legitimate motion for relief from judgment, was not time-barred, and the trial court ought’ve resolved the motion on the merits. Back to the trial court it goes. Brandt v. Menard, 2020 VT 61.

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