State v. Riley

The defendant was found guilty after trial by jury on charges of attempting by physical menace to put another in fear of serious bodily injury under Vermont’s simple assault statute, 13 V.S.A. § 1023(a)(3). The charge grew out of a confrontation between the defendant and a state trooper on an isolated stretch of 1-89 near St. Albans in the early morning hours of October 20, 1979.

The defendant had stopped his car in the breakdown lane of the highway and was seated in the driver’s seat with the interior car light on when the officer pulled up behind him and approached his vehicle. When…