Title: State v. Pitner

State: vermont

Issuer: Vermont Supreme Court

Document:

ENTRY ORDER

                      SUPREME COURT DOCKET NO. 88-495

                              JUNE TERM, 1991


State of Vermont                  }          APPEALED FROM:
                                  }
                                  }
     v.                           }          District Court of Vermont,
                                  }          Unit No. 2, Chittenden Circuit
                                  }
James Pitner                      }          DOCKET NO.  2132-6-88CnCr


             In the above entitled cause the Clerk will enter:

     The presumption contained in 23 V.S.A. { 1204(a)(1) -- that if there
was 0.05 percent or less by weight of alcohol in a person's blood or breath,
it shall be presumed that the person was not under the influence of intoxi-
cating liquor -- is a rebuttable mandatory presumption rather than an irre-
buttable conclusive presumption.  See, e.g., Pigee v. Israel, 670 F.2d 690,
692-93 (7th Cir.) (comparing "conclusive," "mandatory," and "permissive"
presumptions), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 846 (1982); Washington v. Harris,