March 8, 2012
Resources for Prosecutors
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Sherry Ramsey is The HSUS' director of animal cruelty prosecutions. Grant Aleksander
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In Fla., Sherry Ramsey joined South Florida Wildlife Center's Sherry Schleuter and Alaqua Animal Refuge's Laurie Hood to reach out to more than 120 animal cruelty seminar attendees. Joy Jill Photography
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At an APA training conference, Carol Moran, Deputy District Attorney with Kings County District Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, N.Y., switches her role to judge as APA President. CEO David LaBahn played the defendant in this mock trial. The HSUS
The HSUS has a long history of collaborating with and training prosecutors around the country in achieving effective results in animal cruelty cases.
Prosecutors are the key to ensuring that the laws to protect animals are enforced and that the defendants who abuse animals are punished. Thank you for your hard work.
Please browse this page and take special notice of our training offerings and other resources. We can help you win your case!
—Sherry Ramsey, Esq., Director of Animal Cruelty Prosecutions
Please click the links below to find out more about:
Training Opportunities
Help with Cruelty Cases
Prosecutor Recognition
Publications
Guides and Manuals
Other Legal Resources
Past Seminar Successes
Prosecutor Training
The HSUS provides prosecutor training in many different forms. We work with prosecutor training organizations to provide expert legal training on prosecuting cruelty cases. For example, we offer:
See a listing of upcoming training seminars.
Contact us to set up a training for your office or group.
Help with Cruelty Cases
Request assistance from our cruelty prosecution experts to help your office put together a successful case. We can provide:
• Legal research and writing—The HSUS provides detailed and reliable memoranda of law directly to prosecutors on specific cruelty cases. This includes advice and assistance with research on case law or legal issues as you prepare for trial in important cruelty cases.
• Expert witness advice and testimony—The HSUS maintains a substantial network of animal cruelty experts who can testify in animal cruelty cases, including:
• species-specific veterinarians
• animal scientists
• animal behaviorists
• psychologists versed in the links between:
• animal cruelty and human violence
• children and the effect of animal cruelty on children
• experts in investigations, cruelty laws, animal fighting, animal hoarding, and beyond
• Media assistance (to generate favorable media coverage), amicus assistance (to give the court a new perspective), and research reports to ensure a successful case.
• In conjunction with the Animals and Society Institute, we also maintain a list of psychologists and counselors trained to provide targeted treatment to animal abusers.
Prosecutor Recognition
Congratulations to Bibb County Assistant D.A. Kimberly Schwartz for her ground-breaking conviction of a man who beat his dog to death in Georgia. The conviction and subsequent 25-year sentence sets a tremendous precedent for animal cruelty cases in that region of the country.
Publications
» Prosecuting Puppy Mill and Other Large Volume Cruelty Cases
» Enforcing State Animal Cruelty Laws: Part I - Interpreting the Laws to Obtain Successful Prosecutions
» Enforcing State Animal Cruelty Laws: Part II - Working with the Laws We Have
» Protecting Domestic Violence Victims by Protecting their Pets: The Overlooked Victims of Domestic Violence
» First Strike [PDF]: The Violence Connection
» We also offer Illegal Animal Fighting: A Law Enforcement Primer for the Investigation of Cockfighting and Dogfighting (for law enforcement only). Please email jgoodwin@humanesociety.org for access, and be prepared to verify your status as a law enforcement officer or officer of the court.
Guides and Manuals
The following investigation and prosecution guides are linked by permission and are for informational purposes only. They are the work of experts in the states specified, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The HSUS. Nevertheless, they are excellent resources for cruelty investigators and prosecutors.
Other Legal Resources
- Join a Google group of prosecuting attorneys to discuss legal issues and problems in prosecuting cruelty cases, and have access to prosecutors from all over the country.
- Contact The HSUS's director of animal cruelty prosecutions, Sherry Ramsey, Esq.
Update—2012 Prosecutor's Conference in Philadelphia
On Feb. 24, 2012, Sherry Ramsey presented a seminar on prosecuting animal fighting cases to a large audience attending the CLE for Prosecutors Conference at the District Attorney's Office in Philadelphia.
As dogfighting cases are on the rise in Philadelphia, the presentation focused on some of the unique problems that prosecutors face in presenting these cases.
A note from the ADA thanked us for our commitment to ending animal fighting:
Philadelphia has seen an increase in the reports of animal fighting... Accordingly, your education of all of the ADA's in the office was extremely important and very well received.
—Barbara R. Paul, Assistant District Attorney and Special Prosecutor for animal cruelty crimes