State v. Debanville

Defendant’s appeal from a conviction for driving while intoxicated, 23 V.S.A. § 1201(a)(2), presents two issues: (1) whether the charge to the jury was erroneous and prejudicial; and (2) whether the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion for a judgment of acquittal. The first issue requires little analysis. In its brief and during oral argument before this Court, the State confessed error in the charge to the jury and concedes that reversal is required. Our review of the transcript convinces us that the-instructions were indeed, to use the State’s words, “wanting-in some respects.”…