State v. Oliver

Defendant was charged with careless and negligent operation of a motor vehicle resulting in the death of a person, 23 V.S.A. § 1091(c). According to supporting affidavits, the accident caused the death of an in útero fetus at a gestational age of 34-35 weeks. The trial court refused to find probable cause for the charge, ruling that an unborn viable fetus is not a person within the meaning of § 1091. The State brings this interlocutory appeal, and the controlling question of law is “whether an unborn viable fetus is a person as contemplated by 23 V.S.A. § 1091(c).” We answer the question in…