Animal Law Symposium: Criminal Justice

Agenda

Friday, May 5

• 9:00 – 10:15 a.m. PT / 12:00 – 1:15 p.m. ET
  Better Together: Animal Cruelty Investigation and Prevention through Collaboration
• 10:30 – 11:45 a.m. PT / 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
  An Animal’s Impact: Novel Approaches to Criminal Sentencing

Saturday, May 6

• 9:00 – 10:15 a.m. PT / 12:00 – 1:15 p.m. ET
  Appearing for The Animals: The Experience and Impact of The Nation’s First Courtroom Animal Advocate Program
• 10:30 – 11:45 a.m. PT / 1:30 – 2:45 p.m. ET
  Justice & Jurisprudence: Three Animal Crime Case Victories

Sessions

Better Together: Animal Cruelty Investigation and Prevention through Collaboration

Friday, 9:00 – 10:15 a.m. PT / 12:00 – 1:15 p.m. ET

A collaborative approach to animal cruelty investigations relies on the successful interface between law enforcement, forensic veterinarians, animal sheltering entities, and prosecutors. Animal cases require each of these disciplines to understand and execute their unique roles with precision while also understanding the duty, constraints, and capabilities of each other in the context of the investigation and prosecution. Strong relationships between these entities can also result in positive outcomes for animals and people through access to services, education and support that circumvent animal suffering and criminal citation. This panel will discuss the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Collaborative Response Project and the successes and progress made in one community through training, grant funding, and hands on support.

Speakers:

• Emily Lewis, Managing Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund
• Linda Fielder, Animal Cruelty Investigations Manager, Animal Legal Defense Fund
• Lora Dunn, Criminal Justice Program Director, Animal Legal Defense Fund

An Animal’s Impact: Novel Approaches to Criminal Sentencing

Friday, 10:30 – 11:45 a.m. PT / 1:30 – 2:45 p.m. ET

Increasingly the public realizes that animals being subjected to criminal cruelty is a serious matter, deserving a response. The question remains, however, how to arrive at case outcomes that best address these crimes to achieve justice for the animals and the community? Conversely, are there lessons we can learn from the human-animal bond that can help create better outcomes in other cases? Exploring these questions with us are ALDF Managing Attorney, David B. Rosengard, and Deputy District Attorney, Jill Hollander, (Chief of Fulton County’s Crimes Against Animals Division). Rosengard will outline a new training program for criminal justice stakeholders that — by centering the experience of animal victims — builds nuanced sentencing packages that prioritize restoring victim well-being and preventing future crimes against animals. Hollander will discuss her work with Canine Cellmates, an innovative program that deploys an alternative sentencing model pairing individuals charged with certain felony crimes with unadopted shelter dogs and leveraging the human-animal bond to the benefit of all.

Speakers:

• David Rosengard, Managing Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund
• Jill Hollander, Deputy District Attorney – Animal Cruelty & Elder Abuse Unit, Fulton County, GA
• Jessica Chapman, Criminal Justice Program Fellow, Animal Legal Defense Fund

Appearing for The Animals: The Experience and Impact of The Nation’s First Courtroom Animal Advocate Program

Saturday, 9:00 – 10:15 a.m. PT / 12:00 – 1:15 p.m. ET

Six years ago, Connecticut enacted the nation’s first Courtroom Animal Advocate Program in the form of Desmond’s Law, enabling judges to appoint pro bono attorneys and supervised law students to advance the interests of justice by spotlighting the needs and experiences of animal victims in cruelty cases. Join University of Connecticut Associate Dean for Experiential Education and Clinical Professor of Law, Jessica Rubin, and University of Connecticut Animal Law Clinic Teaching Fellow, Tara Cooley, as they share their unparalleled perspective on CAAP laws and lay out what the results of their study of the impact of Desmond’s Law on animal crimes in Connecticut.

Speakers:

• Jessica Rubin, Associate Dean for Experiential Education and Director of the Animal Law Clinic, UConn School of Law
• Tara Cooley, Animal Law Clinic Teaching Fellow, UConn School of Law
• Moderator: Kim Kelly, Legislative Affairs Program Director, Animal Legal Defense Fund

Justice & Jurisprudence: Three Animal Crime Case Victories

Saturday, 10:30 – 11:45 a.m. PT / 1:30 – 2:45 p.m. ET

Due to the unique nature of crimes against animals, successfully responding to cruelty cases can involve being prepared to answer new legal questions—or find new utility for old techniques. This panel will explore how embracing this challenge can create better law for all. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Anne J. Phinney, will reveal how State v. Doll resolved a long-running question: how long can someone convicted of animal cruelty be banned from possessing an animal? Animal Legal Defense Fund Staff Attorney, Kathleen Wood, will explain how she untangled issues of personhood, victim status, and domestic violence in successfully urging the Washington Supreme Court to hold that animal cruelty committed during domestic violence is not a victimless crime. Legal Counsel, Will Lowrey, will discuss how Animal Outlook was able to use a venerable Pennsylvania law designed for human victims to ensure that cows subject to criminal cruelty in a dairy factory farm get their day in court.

Speakers:

• Will Lowrey, Founder and Legal Counsel, Animal Partisan
• Anne Phinney, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Clark County, WA
• Kathleen Wood, Staff Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund
• Moderator: Kate Youssouf, Staff Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund
• Conclusory remarks: 
  David Rosengard, Managing Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund