Latest Case: Vermont v. Bourgoin (Constitutional Law)

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Vermont v. Bourgoin

Citation: 2021 VT 15

Opinion Date: March 12, 2021

Judge: Eaton

Areas of Law: Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Defendant Steven Bourgoin was convicted by jury on five counts of second-degree murder, one count of grossly negligent operation, and one count of operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent. The charges stemmed from a tragic incident during which defendant drove the wrong way on the interstate and crashed into a car, killing five teenagers, before fleeing the scene in a police cruiser, returning to the scene shortly thereafter by again driving the wrong way on the interstate, and crashing into the wreckage. Defendant, who asserted insanity and diminished-capacity defenses at trial, argued he was entitled to reversal of his murder convictions because the State failed to prove the intent element of second-degree murder and the trial court erred in admitting undisclosed testimony and in instructing the jury. Finding no reversible error, the Vermont Supreme Court affirmed defendant's convictions.