The Belardi case goes before the judge this morning. I have no idea if it's going to end up postponed (again), rescheduled (again), continued (again), or what. With luck, all of the witnesses will be able to testify as to the facts of the case.
And the judge (request for jury trial was vacated or something?) will see the light and at least give her a fine. Unfortunately, we can't introduce her history with MSBACR :(
I'll post a reply here with an update when I get back....stay tuned!
1 comment:
The course of this cases exposes just how ineffective our statutes are when it comes to cruelty cases.
For example, the Borough dropped the "Cruelty to Animals" charge because the assigned judge prefers a jury trial-and the Borough does not have the funds to pay for a court appointed attorney to the defendant, and everything else. "Cruelty" has a specific meaning legally, btw.
What today is that the case is continued, once again. The officer and the Borough veterinarian were able to testify, but with time running short, the plaintiff & defendant agreed to continue. So, Wingnut's owner and myself will back in Palmer at the alloted time in October.
Sigh.
All of these thousands of dollars in expenses because Leta Belardi thinks she can skate by without paying the $100 fine-the maximum punishment on the books for the two "Failure to Provide Humane Care" charges, and the $500 fine for the "Hindering an Investigation" charge.
I did urge the owners to sue Belardi for the expenses they have incurred to recover Wingnut to good health-I hope they go forward with it soon.
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