State v. Perry

By motion before trial, the respondent in this case asked for a judicial review of the prosecutor’s decision that probable cause for prosecution existed. This motion was denied, and no hearing given on that issue. Meanwhile, unable to raise bail, the respondent was held in custody seven months pending trial.

The state justifies the denial of a hearing on the basis of this Court’s several holdings that it is constitutionally proper to issue an arrest warrant over the oath of a state’s attorney. See, e.g., In re Mahoney, 128 Vt. 462, 464-65, 266 A.2d 444 (1970). As we view the matter this case…