Should Animals Be Allowed to Sue?

SHERRY F. COLB

Cornell law professor Sherry F. Colb comments on case in which Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) brought a civil damages suit on behalf of an abused horse, now named Justice, against the horse’s former owner. Colb dismantles three arguments critics raise in opposition to recognizing abused animals as plaintiffs in lawsuits such as this one.

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State v. Weddle

Citation: 2020 ME 12

Opinion Date: January 28, 2020

Judge: Joseph Jabar

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of conviction entered by the trial court as a result of a jury verdict finding Defendant guilty of two counts of manslaughter, two counts of causing a death while operating under the influence, and related charges, holding that the court did not err when it denied Defendant's motion to suppress the results of a warrantless blood draw taken at the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident. Me. Rev. Stat. 29-A, 2522(2) directs law enforcement officers to test the blood of all drivers involved in a fatal, or likely fatal, motor vehicle accident without any requirement of probable cause before the blood draw. Defendant argued on appeal that the statute is unconstitutional on its face. The Supreme Judicial Court agreed but nonetheless affirmed the trial court's denial of Defendant's motion to suppress, holding (1) Me. Rev. Stat. 29-A, 2522(2) violates the Fourth Amendment because it does not require that law enforcement have consent or probable cause to believe that a driver is impaired before drawing a person's blood; but (2) the trial court correctly denied Defendant's motion to suppress because the "good faith" exception to the exclusionary rule applied to the search.

State v. Asaad

Citation: 2020 ME 11

Opinion Date: January 28, 2020

Judge: Ellen A. Gorman

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of gross sexual assault, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support the trial court's finding that Defendant possessed the requisite mens rea. On appeal, Defendant argued that Me. Rev. Stat. 17-A, 253(2)(M) must be read to require proof that he knew that the person with whom he was engaging in a sexual act had not expressly or impliedly acquiesced to the sexual act and that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding that he knew the victim had not expressly or impliedly acquiesced to the sexual activity. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support a finding that Defendant engaged in a sexual act that he knew the victim had not expressly or impliedly acquiesced to.