This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

State game wardens placed a deer decoy in a field. Complaints by local residents prompted the measure in an effort to detect the illegal taking of deer. The wardens constructed the decoy using styrofoam and wood, a deer hide covering, and a mounted deer head. They designed the body of the decoy to closely resemble the physique and proportions of a deer, covering its glass eyes with reflective tape to simulate the appearance of a live deer's eyes. The decoy was placed eighty-three feet from the road. D came by, saw the “deer” and shot the deer decoy and was convicted of attempting to take a wild deer out of season under 10 V.S.A. § 4745. D appealed. D’s defense is a legal impossibility.

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