Results
| Title |
Author |
Citation | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evolving Functions of Service and Therapy Animals and the Implications for Public Accommodation Access Rules | John Ensminger and Frances Breitkopf | Animal Legal & Historical Center |
This in-depth article presents the various categories of service animals and the functions they perform. It then examines the federal and state laws and regulations that control access to public accommodation and transportation. The authors conclude by suggesting that a uniform system of licensing and tagging would alleviate the confusion presented by current laws. |
| Cueing and Probable Cause: Research May Increase Defense Attacks on and Judicial Skepticism of Detection Dog Evidence | John J. Ensminger and L.E. Papet | Animal Legal & Historical Center |
The Supreme Court has recognized the uniquely non-intrusive nature of a canine sniff means that using dogs in certain situations does not involve a search. This has encouraged the use of detection dogs in law enforcement, and limited the costs associated with producing evidence of canine alerts in court. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court’s decisions do not mean that any claim that a dog may have alerted can justify a further search, and courts have recognized that a dog must be reliable for an alert to have this consequence. Thus, a high level of reliability must be expected of a canine team, and a failure to conduct adequate training or maintain complete records to establish that reliability will not exclude the possibility that a called alert may actually have been cued, precluding the use of the alert at trial. |
| Walking Search Warrants: Canine Forensics and Police Culture after Florida v. Harris | John J. Ensminger and L.E. Papet | 10 J. Animal & Nat. Resource L. 1 | The 1983 Supreme Court case of U.S. v. Place set initial parameters to tell police how and when dogs could be used at airports and in a number of other environments. Recently, narcotics detection dogs have come to be considered “walking search warrants” by their human counterparts. Particularly since the United States Supreme Court decided Florida v. Harris in 2013, such attitudes in law enforcement have been reinforced as to the use of such dogs in public places. This article explores the interaction of canine forensics and police culture, particularly focusing on the Supreme Court’s decision in Harris. |
| There Are No Bad Dogs, Only Bad Owners: Replacing Strict Liability With A Negligence Standard In Dog Bite Cases | Lynn A. Epstein | 13 Animal Law 129 (2006) |
Should the law treat dogs as vicious animals or loving family companions? This article analyzes common law strict liability as applied to dog bite cases and the shift to modern strict liability statutes, focusing on the defense of provocation. It discusses the inconsistency in the modern law treatment of strict liability in dog bite cases. The article then resolves why negligence is the proper cause of action in dog bite cases. The Author draws comparisons among dog owner liability in dog bite cases, parental liability for a child’s torts, and property owner liability for injuries caused by his property. The Author concludes by proposing a negligence standard to be applied in dog bite cases. |
| Resolving Confusion in Pet Owner Tort Cases: Recognizing Pets' Anthropomorphic Qualities Under a Property Classification | Lynn A. Epstein | 26 SILULJ 31 (Fall, 2001) |
The author examines the important role pets play in our lives in contrast with their nominal assessed market value by courts. The author then provides a uniform suggestion that will enable courts to standardize an owner's pet loss claim. Courts should continue to classify pets as property, yet relax the classification standard to permit a flexible market value analysis that includes the right to assert a punitive damage claim as a means of providing adequate and fair recompense to the grieving pet owner. |
| To What Extent Does Wealth Maximization Benefit Farmed Animals? A Law And Economics Approach To A Ban On Gestation Crates In Pig Production | Geoffrey C. Evans | 13 Animal Law 167 (2006) |
A law and economics approach in the current animals-as-property realm could be the most efficient way to gain protections for the billions of farmed animals that need them now. The wealth maximization theory allows for this because it recognizes human valuation of nonhuman interests. However, evidence shows that a market failure exists because of the discord between public will and animal industry practices. Where human valuation of nonhuman interests is underrepresented in the market and, therefore, a market fix is needed through legislation, animal advocates should evaluate the legislation’s economic impacts. In the case of a ban on gestation crates, as may be the case elsewhere, legislation may actually prove to be economically efficient, and thus gain the support of those who would not otherwise back such legislation. |
| The Nature of Treaties | David Favre | Animal Legal & Historical Center |
This article provides a brief overview of the types of treaties, the treaty process (e.g., creation, ratification, etc.), as well as problems derived from a given sample treaty. |
| Wildlife Jurisprudence | David Favre | 25 J. Envtl. L. & Litig. 459 | This article begins by briefly exploring the extent to which wildlife, historically and presently, have a place within our society, culture and legal system. Then, building upon the reality that wildlife, like humans, have personal interests in living their individual lives, suggests five principles for developing laws and programs to better accommodate wildlife interests in the legal system. Individuals, species and geographic groups are presented as focus points for thinking about wildlife interests. Additionally, the three possibilities of who should be the plaintiff for asserting wildlife rights are described: government, private parties, and the wildlife themselves. Finally, the article proposes new paths forward for our system’s wildlife with the goal that their interests in life and habitat can be more forthrightly balanced against competing human interests. |
| Time for a Sharper Legal Focus | David Favre | 1 Animal L. 1 (1995) | This article provides an introduction into premiere issue of Animal Law. |
| Detailed Discussion of Veterinarian Malpractice | David S. Favre | Animal Legal & Historical Center |
This article provides a short history of the development of veterinary malpractice as a cause of action and also explores the elements of a malpractice suit. It further delineates the concepts of standard of care, proximate cause, and res ipsa loquitur. Defenses to malpractice actions are also discussed. |