On April 7, 2007, I appeared on MS NBC News at 11 and 1 PM because Minneapolis lawmakers are thinking of amending the city’s “dangerous dog law.” I believe that the existing Minneapolis laws are sufficient. What is missing is the will, the officers and the budget for enforcement. The dog bite epidemic flourishes because […]
I have been interviewed in the press and on the radio about the pet food recall. While the incident can produce some change in the law, the high cost of private actions for the injuries and deaths to pets will probably prevent their owners from being compensated. For details, see The Pet Food Recall.
If a pack of pit bull-Rottweiler dogs escapes from their pen, which is surrounded by only a three-foot fence, should their owner be convicted of criminally negligent homicide if they kill a person? Applying the law of Texas, a jury said no. Click here for Kenneth M. Phillips’ analysis of the Lillian Stiles case.
This month, two people were killed by dogs in the USA. On March 16, a 50-year-old woman from Friendswood, Texas, was found dead in her backyard, apparently the victim of her own dog or dogs, of which there were three. On March 23, a two-year-old Dallas-area girl was fatally mauled by her parents’ dog at […]
If you are a citizen of Tennessee, and your House representative is Kent Colemand, Rob Briley, Frank Buck, Tom DuBois, Henry Fincher, Jon Lundberg, Janis Sontany, Eddie Bass, Rob Briley, Henry Fincher, Judd Matheny or Eric Watson, it is particularly important for you to contact him or her now. The reason is that all of […]
Today the Senate Judiciary Committee of the State of Tennessee approved four bills introduced by Senator Doug Jackson which will go a long way to protecting children and others from dog attacks. I testifed before the committee with regard to these bills. In addition to my legal analysis, the committee heard emotional, true-life accounts of […]
In a report published in this week’s influential British Medical Journal (BMJ), pediatricians said parents bringing a dog into the family home should also undertake mandatory classes to teach them the “responsibilities of dog ownership” while children must attend education programs designed to instill “precautionary behavior” around dogs. (To read the article, click here.) These […]
On February 27, 2006, I will testify before the Judiciary Committee of the Tennessee State Senate, on the subject of dog bite law. Senator Doug Jackson has introduced 5 bills that will go a long way to reducing dog attacks. I will be discussing these bills and the the more general subject of preventing dog […]
Today the California Supreme Court heard arguments in the Diane Whipple case. This is the lady who was killed in San Francisco by dogs that were owned by Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel, two of the most irreponsible dog owners in the USA. A jury found Knoller guilty of murder but the trial judge threw […]
In November, two pit bulls bit a man 150 times. (See the post, below.) Also in November, pit bulls took a sleeping child from his bed and killed him in the kitchen. (See Dangerous and Vicious Dogs.) A month ago, a pit bull chewed off a baby’s toes. (See the post, below.) This month, a pit […]