Animal Amicus

Animal Legal Defense Fund

Animal Amicus is the definitive podcast for those interested in landmark animal cases and how they’ve shaped the law. Join Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Nicole Pallotta and David Rosengard as they expertly examine the often-tenuous relationship between animals and the legal system—and what advocates are doing to secure more positive outcomes.

6 Episodes

Crimes on Behalf of Animals
12/13/2023
1:59:14
On this episode of Animal Amicus, hosts Senior Policy Program Manager Nicole Pallotta and Managing Attorney David Rosengard discuss the bearing witness movement, constitutional issues that can come up when advocates clash with the industry, “Good Samaritan” laws, Ag-Gag laws, and open rescues.  Resources referenced in this episode along with additional relevant articles are listed below:  NPR: Animal Rights Activist on Trial in Canada for Giving Water to Pigs  Animal Studies Journal: Bodily Encounter, Bearing Witness and the Engaged Activism of the Global Save Movement by Alex Lockwood  USDA National Agricultural Library: Twenty-Eight Hour Law  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Defending Animal Activists’ First Amendment Rights  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Animal Advocates Win Free Speech Case, Judge Dismisses Meritless Trespassing Suit Intended to Silence Critics  Reporters Committee: Understanding Anti-SLAPP Laws  Animal Legal & Historical Center: Maps of States that Have to Protect Animals in Parked Cars  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Oregon Becomes 11th State to Pass “Good Samaritan Law” to Protect Dogs Left in Hot Cars by Nicole Pallotta  Medium: Yes, I Broke into a Mercedes with My Car Jack by Shawna Harch  GOV.UK: Pet Abduction to be Made New Criminal Offence in Crackdown on Pet Theft  Time: Lady Gaga Got Her Dogs Back, but as Criminals Capitalize on the Demand for Pandemic Pups, Others Aren’t So Lucky by Melissa Chan  Office of the Governor Doug Ducey: Governor Ducey Signs “Matthew’s Law” to Protect Pets, Families   Animal Legal Defense Fund: Ag-Gag Laws  Seattle University Law Review: Ag Gag Past, Present, and Future by Justin F. Marceau  First Amendment Watch: Ag-Gag Laws Face the First Amendment  USDA Economic Research Service: Market Failures: When the Invisible Hand Gets Shaky  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Challenging Judy’s Family Farm Organic Eggs’ Deceptive Advertising  Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act  Center for Constitutional Rights: The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA)  FindLaw: United States v. Fullmer, 584 F.3d 132, 164 (3d Cir. 2009)  Case Western Reserve Law Review: United States v. Fullmer and the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act: “True Threats” to Advocacy  The Intercept: How the Prosecution of Animal Rights Activists as Terrorists Foretold Today’s Criminalization of Dissent by Natasha Lennard  MSU Journal of Animal & Natural Resource Law: Justifying Force Against Animal Cruelty by Ross Campbell  Spolin Law: Can “Defense of Others” Apply in Animal Abuse Cases   The Dodo: Open Rescue: How UPC Introduced This Strategy to U.S. Activists by Karen Davis  Unbound Project: Fierce and Fearless: Patty Mark’s Unique Approach to Animal Liberation by Keri Cronin  United Poultry Concerns: Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? Reflections on the Liberation of Animals 
Sentencing
12/6/2023
2:00:39
On this episode of Animal Amicus, hosts Senior Policy Program Manager Nicole Pallotta and Managing Attorney David Rosengard discuss default sentencing options, diversion programs, restitution, protective orders, and restorative justice.     Resources referenced in this episode along with additional relevant articles are listed below:  FindLaw: The Differences Between a Criminal Case and a Civil Case  The Law of the Land: The O.J. Simpson Trial: Distinctions Between Criminal and Civil Law by Ember Milstead  Sage Journals: The Goals of Corrections: Perspectives from the Line by Misty Kifer et al.   Springer Link: Punishment Goals of Crime Victims by Uli Orth  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Animals as Crime Victims: Development of a New Legal Status  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Victim Impact Statements in Cases of Animal Cruelty  American Bar Association: Cruel & Unusual Punishment – Conversation Starter  Cornell Law School: Sentencing  Vera: Diversion Programs, Explained by Akhi Johnson and Mustafa Ali-Smith  Verdugo: Mental Health Diversion: An Overview of the Legal Guidelines and Requirements by Emin Gharibian  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Laws in Favor of Court-Ordered Psych Evaluations  National Library of Medicine: Animal Cruelty and Psychiatric Disorders by Roman Gleyzer et al.   Animal Legal Defense Fund: Laws Supporting Post-Conviction Possession Bans 
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Bestiality  
11/29/2023
1:59:07
On this episode of Animal Amicus, hosts Senior Policy Program Manager Nicole Pallotta and Managing Attorney David Rosengard discuss how the laws against bestiality have evolved throughout history, how bestiality is distinct from other animal cruelty laws, and recent court cases that have also tackled these questions.   Resources referenced in this episode along with additional relevant articles are listed below:  Animal Legal & Historical Center: Table of State Animal Sexual Assault Laws  North Carolina Law Review: The Law of Crime Against Nature by James R. Spence  UNC School of Government: The Legal Status of Bestiality by Jeffrey B. Welty  MDPI: Bestiality Law in the United States: Evolving Legislation with Scientific Limitations by Brian James Holoyda  Animal Legal & Historical Center: Detailed Discussion of Dog Fighting by Hanna Gibson  Wiley Online Library: Sexual Behavior in the Human Male by A.C. Kinsey et al.  The Physiological Society: Sexual Behaviour in the Human Female by A.C. Kinsey et al.  Gender and Sexuality in Critical Animal Studies by Amber E. George  Research Gate: Zoophilia and the Law: Legal Responses to a Rare Paraphilia by Brian Holoyda and William Newman  ZETA-VEREIN: ZETA Principles  American Psychiatric Association: Paraphilic Disorders  Newsweek: How Common Is Sex Between Different Species? That Monkey and Deer Are Not Alone by Kristin Hugo  Oyez: Lawrence v. Texas, 539 US 558 (2003)  Penn State Dickinson Law: The Future of Justice Scalia’s Predictions of Family Law Doom by Robert E. Rains  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Virginia Court of Appeals Upholds Bestiality Law by Nicole Pallotta  The University of the Pacific Law Review: Chapter 86: Nevada Finally Outlaws Bestiality by Emily Malhiot  Oyez: United States v. Stevens, 559 US 460 (2010)  The First Amendment Encyclopedia: Miller Test by David L. Hudson Jr.  Oyez: New York v. Ferber, 458 US 747 (1982)  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Fifth Circuit Rules that Animal Crush Video Law Prohibits Obscenity and Congress Has Significant Interest in Preventing Animal Cruelty  Animal Legal & Historical Center: Justice v. the State of Texas, 532 S.W.3d 862 (Tex. App. 2017).  Animal Welfare Institute: Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act  Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, H.R. 724, 116th Cong. (2019)  Animal Legal Defense Fund: What to Do if You Witness Animal Cruelty Online 
When Animals Aren’t
11/22/2023
1:53:16
On this episode of Animal Amicus, hosts Senior Policy Program Manager Nicole Pallotta and Managing Attorney David Rosengard discuss how states define “animal,” the legal implications for animals categorized as wildlife, companion animal, livestock, scientific experiment, or “vermin,” and the resulting instability.   Resources referenced in this episode along with additional relevant articles are listed below:   Animal Legal Defense Fund: Animal Cruelty Charges Dropped Because Fish Are Not “Animals” Under North Carolina Law by Nicole Pallotta  Animal Legal & Historical Center: North Carolina General Statutes § 14-360  Hakai Magazine: Fish Feel Pain. Now What? by Ferris Jabr  Compassion in World Farming: Why Fish Welfare Matters: The Evidence for Fish Sentience  Animal Legal & Historical Center: New Mexico Statutes Annotated § 30-18-1  Animal Legal & Historical Center: Utah Code Annotated § 76-9-301  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Friend or Food? Companion Pigs Challenge Legal Distinctions by Nicole Pallotta  Sports Illustrated Vault: The Lost Pets that Stray to the Labs by Coles Phinizy  BARk: The Dog Who Sparked an Animal Rights Movement by JoAnna Lou  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Animals Used in Research  Nebraska Law Review: The Animal Welfare Act at Fifty: Problems and Possibilities in Animal Testing Regulation by Courtney G. Lee  Institute for Laboratory Animal Research: Gaps in US Animal Welfare for Laboratory Animals: Perspectives from an Animal Law Attorney by Pamela Frasch  Animal Legal & Historical Center: Detailed Discussion of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act by Cynthia F. Hodges  Vox: The “Humanewashing” of America’s Meat and Dairy, Explained by Jessica Scott-Reid  National Library of Medicine: Are They Buying It? United States Consumers’ Changing Attitudes toward More Humanely Raised Meat, Eggs, and Dairy  Animal Welfare Institute: A Consumer’s Guide to Food Labels and Animal Welfare  Animal Welfare Institute: Legal Protections for Animals on Farms  Frontiers: Nonhuman and Nonhuman-Human Communication: Some Issues and Questions  Science in the News: River Dolphins Have a Surprisingly Large Vocabulary  The Washington Post: Coyote-killing Contests Face Growing Outrage, State Bans  Outdoor Life: Coyote Hunting Contests Would Be Banned on Federal Land if Congress Passes the Bill It Introduced This Week  Animal Legal & Historical Center: Texas Penal Code § 42.092  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Fighting to Bring Kristen Lindsey to Justice  American Veterinary Medical Association: AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals  Public News Service: Lobster and Crab Cruelty in Maine? by Mark Scheerer  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Switzerland Bans Practice of Boiling Lobsters Alive Without Stunning First by Nicole Pallotta 
Animals are Not Things
11/15/2023
1:51:24
On this episode of Animal Amicus, hosts Senior Policy Program Manager Nicole Pallotta and Managing Attorney David Rosengard discuss sentience, the legal status of nonhumans, the “Oregon trilogy” (State v. Nix, State v. Fessenden, and State v. Newcomb), and animal rights victories across the United States and globally.   Resources referenced in this episode along with additional relevant articles are listed below:   Animal Legal Defense Fund: Critical Caselaw: Judicial Recognition of Animal Sentience (webinar featuring Jamie Contreras & David Rosengard)  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Animals’ Legal Status  Animal Legal Defense Fund: How Animals Differ from Other Types of “Property” Under the Law  Animal Legal & Historical Center: State v. Nix , 334 P.3d 437 (2014), vacated, 356 Or. 768, 345 P.3d 416 (2015)  Casetext: State of Oregon v. Hess, 273 Or. App. 26 (2015)  Casetext: People v. Harris, 405 P.3d 361, 2016 COA 159 (Colo. App. 2016)  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Charging Considerations in Criminal Animal Abuse Cases  Oregon Live: Animals Can Be Victims of Crime, Oregon Court of Appeals Says  FBI: Tracking Animal Cruelty: FBI Collecting Data on Crimes Against Animals  FBI: 2019 National Incident Reporting System  Animal Legal & Historical Center: State of Oregon v. Fessenden, 310 P.3d 1163 (Or. App., 2013), review allowed, 354 Or. 597, 318 P.3d 749 (2013) and aff'd, 355 Or. 759 (2014)  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Two Great Legal Victories for Animals in Oregon  Oregon Live: Oregon Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Deputy Who Entered Private Property to Rescue Starving Horse  Animal Legal & Historical Center: State of Oregon v. Newcomb, 359 Or 756 (2016)  Oregon Live: Pets not ‘mere’ property: Oregon Supreme Court upholds dog-starvation conviction  FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin: The Emergency Aid Exception to the Fourth Amendment’s Warrant Requirement  Animal Legal & Historical Center: State v. Davidson, Slip Copy, 2006 WL 763082 (Ohio App. 11 Dist.), 2006-Ohio-1458  Animal Legal Defense Fund: 34 Horses in Limbo: Pre-Trial Forfeiture  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Delhi High Court Rules that Community Dogs Have the Right to Food by Nicole Pallotta  Animal Legal Defense Fund: Islamabad High Court Holds that Animals Have Legal Rights by Nicole Pallotta 
Desmond’s Law
9/7/2023
2:10:30
On this episode of Animal Amicus, hosts Senior Policy Program Manager Nicole Pallotta and Managing Attorney David Rosengard discuss the history of animal protection and animal cruelty laws, the link between domestic violence and animal abuse, courtroom animal advocate programs (CAAP), and the stories behind Desmond’s Law and Franky’s Law. Resources referenced in this episode along with additional relevant articles are listed below: Desmond’s Law: CT Gen Stat § 54-86n (2018) Animal Legal Defense Fund: Courtroom Animal Advocate Rights (CAAP) Animal Legal Defense Fund: Short Film Released with Actress Anjelica Huston in Support of States Adopting Courtroom Animal Advocate Programs Animal Legal Defense Fund: Unique Connecticut Law Allows Court-Appointed Advocates to Represent Animals by Nicole Pallotta The Washington Post: A second chance by Emily Giambalvo Animal Legal Defense Fund: Case Study: Animal Fighting – Michael Vick Animal Legal & Historical Center: Lessons Learned: Acting as Guardian/Special Master in the Bad Newz Kennels Case by Rebecca J. Huss Animal Legal & Historical Center: United States v. Gideon, 1 Minn. 292 (1856) Animal Legal & Historical Center: The Development of the Anti-Cruelty Laws During the 1800’s by David Favre & Vivien Tsang Animal Legal Defense Fund: Laws that Protect Animals Animal Legal Defense Fund: The Link Between Cruelty to Animals and Violence Toward Humans (includes the fact sheet mentioned in this episode) Animal Welfare Institute: Safe Havens Mapping Project Battered Women’s Justice Project: Understanding Animal Abuse as Intimate Partner Violence Pamela Carlisle-Frank, Joshua M. Frank & Lindsey Nielsen (2004) Selective battering of the family pet, Anthrozoös, 17:1, 26-42, DOI: 10.2752/089279304786991864 UConnToday: Desmond’s Law 5 Years Later: UConn Animal Law Clinic Leader Conducting Study, Crafting Manual, Developing Diversionary Program SSRN: Desmond’s Law: Early Impressions of Connecticut’s Court Advocate Program for Animal Cruelty Cases by Jessica Rubin Animal Legal Defense Fund: Model Animal Protection Laws

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Animal Amicus

Animal Legal Defense Fund

6 Episodes

Crimes on Behalf of Animals

Sentencing

Bestiality

When Animals Aren’t

Animals are Not Things

Desmond’s Law

Bestiality  