Ruby Cadillac, A Murdered Angel

Some Legal Info

(copied from a Hounds of Hell post by justj)

I did some quick research, and looked on animallaw.info... Here are a couple of the statutes in question (copied straight from the oregon law page on animallaw.info)...

OR ST 167.310 - 390
These Oregon statutes comprise the state's anti-cruelty laws. "Animal" means any nonhuman mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian or fish. Two interesting features are contained in Oregon law. First, it should be noted that the term "assault," which is generally associated with human crimes, is used to define certain crimes against animals. Second, animal abuse may be elevated to a felony offense if the act was committed directly in front of a minor child or if the perpetrator was previously convicted of domestic violence. There are two levels of animal abuse; animal abuse in the second degree occurs when person intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes physical injury to an animal.and is a Class B misdemeanor. The more severe offense of animal abuse in the first degree occurs if a person intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes serious physical injury to an animal, or cruelly causes the death of an animal. Animal abuse in the first degree is a Class A misdemeanor, but will be a Class C felony if the person committing the animal abuse has previously been convicted of two or more of the listed offenses (e.g., aggravated animal abuse and offenses involving domestic violence) or the person knowingly commits the animal abuse in the immediate presence of a minor child.

I think the very clear part of that is 'The more severe offense of animal abuse in the first degree occurs if a person intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes serious physical injury to an animal, or cruelly causes the death of an animal.'

O.R.S. ? 609.020
Dogs are considered personal property in Oregon.

I didn't look into it that far yet, but this part may be an issue for determining the civil court 'value' judgment, but I will have to find actual Oregon case files regarding this... that site has tons of case files regarding similar cases, I just have to find one from Oregon... Regardless, even as 'property', he is liable for damages...

As far as Oregon gun laws, so far as I have found, it is only legal to carry a gun in Oregon if you have a CCW permit (which seems pretty easy to get) so that would be something to look into... I don't know the actual county to be sure about how legal it was to shoot in the area, it is never legal to shoot on to your neighbors property...