Dogs are mans’ best friend but one unlucky puppy did not benefit from her loyal devotion to owner.  Michael Bernhart Beckman was arrested and charged with felony animal cruelty after allegedly stabbing one of his dogs.  Both of his dogs have now been taken into custody and the injured animal has received veterinary treatment.  Beckman’s criminal lawyer will need to mitigate charges against Beckman and fight to reduce the felony animal cruelty charge which currently could land Beckman up to five years in jail and a $10,000 fine.   In an even more bizarre incident, a Minnesota man has been charged with animal abuse and destruction of property after allegedly stabbing 29 pigs in another man’s barn.  The alleged perpetrator, Curtis Adams, has no recollection of the incident likely due to his intense intoxication at the time, but has not denied the animal cruelty charges against him.  Evidence certainly points the finger of blame at Curtis including blood all over Curtis’s clothes and Curtis’s bloody knife being found in the barn.  Curtis’s criminal defense lawyer will most likely advise Curtis to accept a plea deal in hope of minimizing the damage, but his criminal defense attorney will also need to examine the possibility that Curtis could be innocent and the victim of a malicious frame-up.

If convicted of animal cruelty, Curtis and Beckman may not only serve time and pay restitutions, but may also be placed on an animal abuser registry.   Much like a sex offender registry, an animal abuser registry acts to stop registered animal abusers from adopting pets from animal shelters, allows law enforcement to track residents with a history of animal cruelty, and informs community members of violent offenders.  Each state is adopting a different approach to the registry.  For example in California only adult and convicted felony offenders will be on the registry whereas in Idaho state lawmakers are pushing for laws that differentiate between pets and livestock.  The new state registries will make it even more important if charged with animal cruelty to enlist a criminal defense attorney since animal abuse charges can follow you for the rest of your life and become well-known, public knowledge.  No one wants to be neighbors with someone convicted of a Fido felony. 

Some people feel that concern over animal cruelty is too extensive and law enforcement should allocate the resources used to fight animal abuse towards stopping cruelty towards people instead.  However, animal abuse is both extremely costly and if left unregulated and unpunished can lead to even greater crimes.  In one case, officials estimated that the state had to pay $1.2 million to rescue over 170 dogs rescued from an animal hoarder’s home.  In another tragic case, it cost $37,000 for officials to clean up after a convicted hoarder who had more than 200 dogs, including 150 dead Chihuahuas, in his home.  In addition, hoarding and other animal abuse can be a precursor to abuse against humans.  In fact, animal abuse is one of the four indicators used by the F.B.I to evaluate future violent offenders and many people charged with child abuse or domestic violence have committed animal abuse in the past.    As you can see, animal abuse is not a matter to ignore and has serious repercussions.  A good criminal defense attorney will know the state specific consequences of being charged with animal cruelty.  Hopefully, the precautions state lawmakers and law enforcement are taking to prevent animal cruelty will be effective and animal abuse will be prevented before it causes the death of innocent animals or leads to crimes against humans. 

Do You Like Pets Better than People: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/05/opinion/garver/main3234187.shtml

 Animal Abuse as Clue to Additional Cruelties: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/us/18animal.html

Minnesota Man Charged with Stabbing 29 Pigs: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/05/innesota-man-charged-with-stabbing-29-pigs/

Lee County man arrested for stabbing dog: http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2010-05-10/Lee-County-man-arrested-for-stabbing-dog

Tito Ortiz has been arrested on charges of domestic violence.   He has been accused of assaulting and beating his girlfriend Jenna Jameson in their home in California.   For those of you who do not know who Tito Ortiz is, he is a 6-foot-3, 205 pound Ultimate Fighting Champion.  This is a man who has made fighting his life passion and work, and who has had considerable success by being strong, aggressive, and fearless.  Ortiz could very probably have higher than average testosterone levels, a chemical imbalance that has been shown to make many men pursue greater risk taking activity and may as in other species lead to greater aggression.   This will be a challenging case for the criminal defense attorney representing Ortiz.  Jameson allegedly sustained visible injuries after the alleged attack by Ortiz and it is likely that Ortiz will be charged with felony domestic violence.  The domestic violence attorney representing Ortiz will have to put up a solid defense in order for Ortiz to retain parental rights of his children and not become convicted and labeled as a spouse beater.  If Ortiz indeed does suffer from genetically high testosterone levels, is this a fact that can be used in his defense?  In many cases physical and mental medical conditions such as Depression, Attention Deficit Disorder, and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome that affect impulse control are used by criminal defense attorneys to show that their clients could not control their criminal actions.  Ortiz’s domestic violence lawyer should investigate Ortiz’s testosterone levels and if they are higher than average use this as a defense to mitigate felony charges of domestic violence.  If in fact Ortiz faces a greater challenge in controlling anger and aggression, he will need anger management courses and perhaps hormone therapy, not time behind bars.  

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/04/26/2010-04-26_jenna_jamesons_boyfriend_tito_ortiz_charged_with_beating_her_up.html

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51013

Woods was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and prescribed drugs during the incident. He was not charged with any criminal charges due to the lack of evidence, but was cited for careless driving and fined $164. Woods was ultimately saved from having a drunk driving charge being filed against him by making the immediate decision to protect himself by hiring the services of his criminal attorney before ever submitting a statement to the authorities.

The process that possibly saved Tiger Woods from facing criminal charges is what we call a Pre-file. In order for someone to be charged with a crime, some kind of investigation has to take place. During the investigation phase, a criminal defense attorney can get involved and prevent any charges from being filed by working with investigators to ensure the accused does not make any statements that may be used against him/her. Woods’ hesitation to speak to the authorities and the involvement of his criminal defense attorney reduced his risk of facing any DUI charges or any other criminal charges that could have had vast damage on his career.

For more information on pre-file investigations you can visit our site at: http://www.criminalattorneyusa.com/pre-file-investigation.aspx

So the cops are dispatched to the scene after a neighbor calls 911 regarding a couple that was arguing. When the cops conduct their lack luster criminal investigation they make the determination: that since the man had what seemed to be a minor scratch on his forearm, the woman was the one guilty of a domestic violence charge. The only questions that were asked were ones that are designed to find someone at fault, not to find out the truth. Domestic violence lawyers who are experienced will bring this up in the defense. They didn’t ask any other questions that might have been useful in this investigation like “What do you do for a living”? This question is very important!  Because, from my observation, it seemed like the man could have been a mechanic because of the dirt under his finger nails and the tools that were scattered around his garage. From my experience changing the oil and spark plugs in my car, one can certainly scratch themselves pretty good! Just ask my right ring finger that still has a scar on it! I’m certainly not saying that this is exactly what happened. The scratch could have very well been from the woman and she may have actually been guilty of domestic violence. But what I am saying is that with so much on the line, you have to look into every single aspect of the case. An experienced domestic violence lawyer or criminal defense attorney would certainly do so. When the officer’s investigation was done and the mother was in handcuffs in the back of the police car filling her lap with tears, the officer’s statement to the camera guy was “Well, I hope I got this right.” Are you kidding me?

The officer in some way or another has forever changed this woman’s life. She is being accused of domestic violence. Either a charge of misdemeanor domestic violence or more likely, a felony domestic violence charge.  These charges will affect her future.  What the show doesn’t tell you is her back story and her history. What does she do for a living? Does she have a professional license? Is this going to ruin her career? If so, she’s in huge trouble – all because some cop “hoped he got it right”. If she loses her job, that means she’s got to look for a new job. So in today’s market, where unemployment is sky rocketing, she has to look for a new job, only now she has a criminal background!? Ya, good luck.  Moreover, if you’re looking for a new job, that means you have no income coming in, and that will affect the way you take care of your family. How will she pay her bills? How will she keep a roof over her head? These are questions that a cop doesn’t think about – but domestic violence lawyers and criminal defense lawyers do. Forget about jail, (which is a serious possibility), but the reality is, you don’t always have to go to jail for a criminal charge to ruin your life. The average American is a couple of pay checks away from being out in the streets…think about it….because this police officer didn’t! He is “hoping, hoping he got it right.”

http://www.domesticviolence.org/

What images are conjured up in your mind when you read those words? You think of a creep, the lowest of the low. What kind of person would violate a child in such a devastating way? If someone you know is accused of child molestation and whether he or she is ever convicted of the crime or not, you will never look at them the same way again. The accusation itself carries a strong stigma. It changes everything… and people know this. Because of the seriousness of a molestation accusation, it is crucial to hire a molestation lawyer or criminal defense attorney to represent you from the start.

From our experience in criminal defense, only about 1 out of 5 accusations of child molestation are true. I would say roughly 9 out of 10 times, I’m speaking with a potential client about a molestation case like this and I hear, “the ex-husband, the ex-wife, the new boyfriend,” etc. Most of the time these molestation accusations just happen to pop up in the midst of custody battles. It’s a way to smear someone else’s name in order to gain something for yourself – in most cases, custody of a child. These cases also turn in to witch hunts. The very thought of child molestation inspires rage and a thirst for retribution in the heart of a detective. He wants to see someone go down for it. Charges as serious as this require adequate evidence, but all too often the District Attorney will file molestation charges based on the accusation itself. They take no risks with this one. Our criminal attorneys or molestation attorneys are aware of this and do everything possible to provide sound legal representation under the circumstances.

Even if you are charged with molestation and later vindicated, your life will never be the same. You will always be that guy who was charged with child molestation. The molestation lawyers that I have worked with are passionate about ensuring that a real investigation is done before these cases go too far. Our criminal attorneys believe that sufficient evidence is needed BEFORE charges are placed, not after. Our criminal defense attorneys have succeeded in protecting numerous individuals from being falsely charged with something they simply didn’t do. But, if these individuals had been on their own – they most likely would have been forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a child molestation attorney to defend them in court.

I see this happen often in domestic violence cases as well. A mother sees a divorce on the horizon and files a false police report about her husband having beaten her, just in case the marriage doesn’t work out and the kids are up for grabs. If you are on the receiving end of a serious domestic violence accusation or molestation accusation, then you need to get on the offense. The worst thing you can do is sit around to wait to see what happens. Our aim is to prevent criminal investigations from snowballing against you. If you don’t act it’s like a one-sided tug of war. Don’t be another victim of someone else’s greed.

Note: Child molestation and domestic violence are serious offenses. We are not implying that these crimes never happen; our concern is that those who are falsely accused deserve proper defense from stigma and over-zealous investigators. Those who are guilty of such offenses need to be brought to justice, but they too have the constitutional right to proper criminal defense in order to ensure their punishment fits the crime.

http://www.preventchildabuse.org/index.shtml