State v. Mitchell

This is an appeal by defendant from a jury verdict which found him guilty of impeding and assaulting a law enforcement officer in violation of 13 V.S.A. §§ 1023, 1028 and 3001. Defendant raises two issues for our review: first, whether the victim of the assault, a deputy sheriff, was a law enforcement officer within the meaning of the controlling statutes; secondly, defendant contends the court erred in refusing to charge the jury on the issue of self-defense. We affirm the conviction.

On August 22, 1980, defendant was a spectator at a demolition derby on the grounds of the Caledonia County…