Vermont v. Riley

In the early morning of October 20, 1979, James Riley (defendant) stopped his vehicle on the side of an isolated stretch of highway. A Vermont (plaintiff) state trooper pulled up behind Riley and approached the vehicle to question him. Riley stated that he had a cramp in his leg. The trooper noticed a gun on the passenger seat and instructed Riley to put his hands on the steering wheel, and Riley complied. The trooper then instructed Riley to get out of the car, to which Riley refused. At that point, Riley reached for the gun, and, in response, the trooper drew his own gun. Riley stated, “everything is cool, don’t shoot,” and slid the gun down onto the floor. The trooper testified that he could not see the location of Riley’s hand as Riley moved the gun and that he feared for his life. Riley was charged under Vermont’s simple-assault statute with attempting by physical menace to put another in fear of serious bodily injury. The jury was instructed that it could consider both Riley’s actions and how the trooper perceived those actions. Riley was convicted. On appeal, Riley argued that: (1) the gun did not have a firing pin and thus did not pose an actual danger, (2) Riley did not make any sudden or threatening movements, and (3) the jury instructions improperly stressed the importance of the trooper’s subjective perception of the events.