§ 1204 - Permissive inferences - Vermont Statutes

§ 1204. Permissive inferences

(a) Upon the trial of any civil or criminal action or proceeding arising out of acts alleged to have been committed by a person while operating, attempting to operate or in actual physical control of a vehicle on a highway, the person's alcohol concentration shall give rise to the following permissive inferences:

(1) If the person's alcohol concentration at that time was less than 0.08, such fact shall not give rise to any presumption or permissive inference that the person was or was not under the influence of intoxicating liquor, but such fact may be considered with other competent evidence in determining whether the person was under the influence of intoxicating liquor.

(2) If the person's alcohol concentration at that time was 0.08 or more, it shall be a permissive inference that the person was under the influence of intoxicating liquor in violation of subdivision 1201(a)(2) or (3) of this title.

(3) If the person's alcohol concentration at any time within two hours of the alleged offense was 0.10 or more, it shall be a permissive inference that the person was under the influence of intoxicating liquor in violation of subdivision 1201(a)(2) or (3) of this title.

(b) The foregoing provisions shall not be construed as limiting the introduction of any other competent evidence bearing upon the question whether the person was under the influence of intoxicating liquor, nor shall they be construed as requiring that evidence of the amount of alcohol in the person's blood, breath, urine, or saliva must be presented. (Added 1969, No. 267 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; amended 1973, No. 79, § 4, eff. May 23, 1973; 1981, No. 103, § 5; 1987, No. 244 (Adj. Sess.); 1991, No. 55, § 5.)