State v. Bourn

¶ 1. Defendant Paul Bourn was convicted in the superior court of two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, 13 V.S.A. § 1024(a)(5), following an incident where he pointed an unloaded muzzleloader toward two police officers who were attempting to remove him from a home. He appeals his convictions, arguing first that the court committed reversible error by refusing to instruct the jury that the charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon requires proof of specific intent to threaten, and second, that such intent may be negated by the defendant’s diminished capacity. Holding…