Animal protection professionals rely on prosecutors to hold animal cruelty offenders accountable. When veterinarians, law enforcement, animal control officers, and animal care entities put significant resources into an investigation, it can be disheartening and frustrating when a prosecutor declines to charge on that case. Instead of looking for fault at the prosecutorial level, this presentation will hold up a mirror to the entities working these cases and reflect on primary areas that can be most improved in order to present a case more viable for prosecution.
In this presentation, Animal Legal Defense Fund Managing Attorney Emily Lewis, will not delve into the specifics of how to adequately conduct an animal cruelty investigation, but rather will provide insight—specific to animal protection professionals who are relatively new to the field—as to how to anticipate the needs of a prosecutor in your case investigation and presentation. Prosecutorial discretion notwithstanding, evidence tracking, veterinary collaboration, and report writing are fundamental to animal cruelty case processing, and are all within the control of individuals participating in these cases.
The webinar will emphasize how to strengthen and highlight these aspects of your animal cruelty cases in a way that will give them the consideration they deserve.
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